The squealing begins! NIH director warned researchers on Saturday that the House Republican budget plans could slash by half the funding rates for biomedical researchers.
The second test launch of the Falcon 9, with the first flight of the Dragon capsule, has been postponed again. It is now set for December 7.
This appears to be an abuse of power: Since August Florida police have conducted two warrentless sweeps, raiding nine barbershops and arresting 37 people (for “barbering without a license,” a misdemeanor), using the state’s business regulations as a cover. Key quotes:
The operations were conducted without warrants, under the authority of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspectors, who can enter salons at will.
With the exception of two misdemeanor marijuana charges and Vasquez’s arrest, deputies were unable to connect any of the illegal activity to anyone. Meanwhile, store owners reported property damage from the raids, including a large hole employees said deputies busted into a wall at 809 Barbershop in Ocoee. However, several owners said the damage to their businesses and reputations has been much worse.
I think this is good news: The American Geophysical Union today is denying its climate science project, Climate Q&A, is an attack on skeptics, as reported yesterday.
The law of unintended consequences strikes again! Nine environmental groups have found that the European Union’s plan to promote the use of biofuels over fossil fuels will actually damage the environment. Key quote:
The extra biofuels that Europe will use over the next decade will generate between 81 and 167 percent more carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, says the report.
China today released the first photos taken by Chang’e 2, its second lunar orbiter launched on October 1. More here, including one image.
The market speaks: The Chicago Climate Exchange, created for the sole purpose of trading carbon credits, ended all carbon trading as of October 21.
An evening pause: In honor of the upcoming chaos coming from Washington, how about some organized chaos from the German band Schelmish.
What could go wrong? The American Geophysical Union is going to announce tomorrow a public campaign by 700 scientists to attack any skepticism of global warming.
More technology disruption! Cable companies are losing subscribers, and it appears they are shifting their video viewing to the internet. Key quote:
Consumers who use the Internet to get their movies and TV shows bypass not just the cable companies, but the cable networks that produce the content. The move could have the same disruptive effect on the TV and movie industries as digital downloads have had on music.
The eruption of Mount Merapi continues to build, with the death toll now over 150 and over 200,000 people displaced from their homes. Heavens, it might even cause President Obama to cancel his visit to Indonesia.
How’s this for teaching kids the wrong lessons: League officials have banned an undefeated youth football team from the playoffs because they are too good. The other teams in the league feared they lose if they played them again.
Update: Teaching kids the joy of winning instead of the misery of “fairness.” Key quote:
Every week you’ve been told that the important thing is just to have a good time. Well, this week it’s going to be different. The number one goal is to win; the number two goal is to have a good time. But I assure you: if you win, you will have a much better time!
An evening pause: What was happening while Thomas Jefferson was writing the Declaration of Independence, according to Broadway and Hollywood.
Freedom of speech alert: A high school production of To Kill a Mockingbird was cancelled because of the play includes the word “nigger.” The absurdity of this is incredible. Not only was this how people spoke during the time period described in the book, Harper Lee’s book was central in bringing about the end to racial discrimination.
Good news for freedom: The ACLU is suing NJ Transit for its firing of a worker because he burned Koran at a protest
More on the continuing eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia. Key quote:
The Volcano Mitigation and Geological Disaster Agency warned of worse in store as magma pushed towards the surface from depths of 6-8km, compared with a maximum 2km deep when the mountain previously erupted in 2006. “This is the scenario I dislike the most, because the deepest magma is pushing up now,” said the agency’s chief, Surono. “The eruptions haven’t stopped, the tremors are getting stronger and one big explosion could be the result. I’ve never seen it act like this. We don’t know what to expect.”
An evening pause: Charlie Chaplin, making glorious fun of Hitler and all egomanical dictators, in The Great Dictator (1940).
More bad news for NASA’s future: There are more indications in the House that the election results will increase the pressure to cut NASA’s budget.
Cassini went into safe mode on Tuesday, November 2nd. At the moment engineers expect it to take at least another week to get the spacecraft back to normal.
The worst volcanic eruption of Mount Merapi in Indonesia in a century has gotten worse.
Discovery’s launch is now officially postponed until no sooner than November 30.
Another government budget disaster: California – the coming collapse.
The former CEO of one of the nation’s largest banks says that unless the federal government gets its budget under control, bankruptcy is a “mathematical certainty.” I especially like this quote from the CEO, John Allison, in describing the past history of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack:
“I was on a committee, a Financial Services Roundtable, for nine years trying to do something about Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae,” said Allison. “You couldn’t help but see it coming,” he said. “You ran the numbers, particularly the last several years, and it was mathematically certain Freddie and Fannie were going bankrupt.”
“We met with Congress. We met with [House Financial Services Chairman] Barney Frank and [Senate Banking Chairman] Chris Dodd and they absolutely wouldn’t see it,” said Allison.
Enviromental regulation takes another hit! The EPA policy chief most in favor of heavy regulation has stepped down.
A NASA surprise security drill caused one employee to call the police, shutting down the Glenn Research Center in a false alarm.
Want to find out how polarized our county is? Then wear this shirt (which can be purchased here) and watch the reaction.
How do I know this? Well, yesterday on my flight home from California after giving a lecture to the Orange County section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, I tried it. Nor was this the first time I’ve worn this shirt and seen the reactions. People always seem to notice it, often doing a doubletake because at first they think it is the Obama image with the word “Hope” underneath. Then they realize what it really is, and either laugh in amusement or frown in annoyance.
Yesterday was no different. As I stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby of my California hotel, I passed a woman whose eyes immediately widened when she saw the shirt, and then scowled as she walked past. Then, I went into a local Subway to pick up something to eat during the long flight home. The woman who made my sub as well as the clerk who took my cash both looked at my shirt and glowered. Though they did nothing outright rude, I really think they would have preferred to tell me to leave and not sell me my sub.
At the airport things were interestingly different. Two guys in front of me on line to check bags immediately wanted to know where they could buy the shirt. Then, on the airplane, a steward as well as the passenger sitting next to me asked me the same question. When I said I’d forward them the webpage if they’d give me their email addresses, they all complied eagerly. The steward then went out of his way for the rest of the flight to make sure I was happy, to which I remain grateful.
Though I do find these reactions both amusing and intriguing, I also find them disturbing. How can a free nation survive if people get so emotional over something so silly as a t-shirt?
Here are the first images of Deep Impact’s flyby of Comet Hartley 2. The first is a montage, the sequence in time going clockwise. The second is a close-up of the second image.
The feature that I find most intriguing is the narrow smooth waist of the comet’s dogbone shape. The whole thing looks almost like a piece of taffy that’s being pulled apart.
You can’t put lipstick on this pig! AARP, which backed healthcare reform because it thought it would lower costs, has announced that due to healthcare reform it will raise the premiums its employee pay by 8 to 13 percent. Meanwhile, privacy advocates are raising alarms about the federal health database being set up under the healthcare bill.
