SpaceX now plans its next launch attempt of the first Falcon 9 geosynchronous launch for Tuesday at 5:41 pm (Eastern).
SpaceX now plans its next launch attempt of the first Falcon 9 geosynchronous launch for Tuesday at 5:41 pm (Eastern).
Author: Robert Zimmerman
A Canadian disabled woman was denied entry to the United States after a customs agent cited her supposedly private medical details.
Does this make you feel safer? A Canadian disabled woman was denied entry to the United States after a customs agent cited her supposedly private medical details.
“I was turned away, I was told, because I had a hospitalization in the summer of 2012 for clinical depression,’’ said Richardson, who is a paraplegic and set up her cruise in collaboration with a March of Dimes group of about 12 others. The Weston woman was told by the U.S. agent she would have to get “medical clearance’’ and be examined by one of only three doctors in Toronto whose assessments are accepted by Homeland Security. She was given their names and told a call to her psychiatrist “would not suffice.’’
At the time, Richardson said, she was so shocked and devastated by what was going on, she wasn’t thinking about how U.S. authorities could access her supposedly private medical information.
If Homeland Security can get access to a Canadian woman’s confidential medical records, how easy do you think it is for them to get access to your Obamacare records?
An overview of the known superearths.
Worlds without end: An overview of the known superearths.
China has successfully launched its first rover mission to the Moon.
China has successfully launched its first rover mission to the Moon.
Touchdown on the Moon is scheduled for December 14. If they succeed, it will be the first softlanding on the Moon since 1976.
No more seasonal hurricane predictions from Colorado State University.
No more seasonal hurricane predictions from Colorado State University.
They lost their funding, which is no surprise.
At the beginning of this year’s season, the team predicted 18 named storms. Nine of those, it said, would become hurricanes. Four would be major hurricanes. Here’s how it shook out: There were 13 named storms. Only two became hurricanes. Neither was a major hurricane.
They, like NOAA, expected an increase in extreme hurricanes and were wrong. In fact, they were so wrong that they illustrated clearly how much a guess all of these climate predictions are. You might as well flip a coin.
Another great moment in local government.
Another great moment in local government.
The article also includes some links a entire collection of great moments, all sadly hilarious.
Chang’e 3 and Yutu – The tale of a beautiful goddess and her rabbit on the Moon.
Chang’e 3 and Yutu – The tale of a beautiful goddess and her rabbit on the Moon.
In this case, the goddess and rabbit are Chinese robots exploring the Moon for science. The launch is scheduled for 1:30 am Monday in China, which is 12:30 pm Eastern Sunday in the U.S.
Can’t light a Falcon 9 without a spark.
Can’t light a Falcon 9 without a spark.
The article is an interesting analysis of why Thursday’s Falcon 9 launch was scrubbed. They are aiming to try again Monday evening.
India’s first Martian orbiter, Mangalyaan, successfully fired its engines today to leave Earth orbit and head to Mars.
India’s first Martian orbiter, Mangalyaan, successfully fired its engines today to leave Earth orbit and head to Mars.
A mother with multiple sclerosis has lost her health insurance because of Obamacare.
Finding out what’s in it: A mother with multiple sclerosis has lost her health insurance because of Obamacare.
She will likely face an IRS audit now as well, since she has gone public with her story. Can’t have these little people speaking bad of our great leader.
The Federal Trade Commission goes after piano teachers.
We’re here to help you: The Federal Trade Commission goes after piano teachers.
[T]he MTNA has existed since 1876 solely to advance the cause of music study and support music teachers. The 501(c)(3) has about 22,000 members, nearly 90% of them piano teachers, including many women who earn a modest living giving lessons in their homes. The group promotes music study and competitions and helps train teachers. Not exactly U.S. Steel.
The association’s sin, according to the feds, rested in its code of ethics. The code lays out ideals for members to follow—a commitment to students, colleagues, society. Tucked into this worthy document was a provision calling on teachers to respect their colleagues’ studios, and not actively recruit students from other teachers.
Such evil. Thank god we have Washington bureaucrats around to stamp it out!
Scott Walker’s epic battle to beat the unions in Wisconsin.
Scott Walker’s epic battle to beat the unions in Wisconsin.
When they and Democratic legislators failed to prevent passage of Act 10 [the law that defanged the unions], they tried to defeat — with a scurrilous smear campaign that backfired — an elected state Supreme Court justice. They hoped that changing the court’s composition would get Walker’s reforms overturned. When this failed, they tried to capture the state Senate by recalling six Republican senators. When this failed, they tried to recall Walker. On the night that failed — he won with a larger margin than he had received when elected 19 months earlier — he resisted the temptation to proclaim, “This is what democracy looks like!”
Read it. It describes the way our country can defeat the fascists.
Argentina to begin testing its own rocket for satellite launches before the end of 2013.
The competition heats up: Argentina to begin testing its own rocket for satellite launches before the end of 2013.
A Progress freighter was manually docked with ISS today when its automatic docking system suffered a malfunction 200 feet from the station.
A Progress freighter was manually docked with ISS today when its automatic docking system suffered a malfunction 200 feet from the station.
This freighter was using a new rendezvous radar system, and had spent two extra days approaching the station to do rendezvous tests. What failed has not yet been released.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
An evening pause: Let’s have a taste of some ancient now lost culture.
The Falcon 9 rocket had an abort at launch today at 5:39 Eastern.
The Falcon 9 rocket had an abort at launch today at 5:39 Eastern.
The rocket is safe on the launchpad. They are assessing the situation. SpaceX has a remarkably good record of launching quickly and successfully after a launch abort, sometimes within an hour.
The countdown has been reset for a 6:44 pm Eastern launch, the latest they can in their launch window, and has resumed. You can watch it live here.
It appears that they have resumed the countdown, even as they continue to assess, so that if all is well they will be able to launch within their window. This means however they are not yet go for launch.
They now say they are go for launch, even as they assess. In addition, their customer, SES, has given them 20 more minutes on their launch window.
I just love how SpaceX seems to always have an abort-at-launch whenever I am free to watch. I think this is the fourth abort-at-launch nail-biter I have seen.
They have aborted the countdown again at T-48 seconds. They have also scrubbed for the day. It appears they had not completed their assessment of the original abort and decided to scrub. The next launch attempt date is not yet known.
Another state tells Obama that they have to follow the law.
Another state tells Obama that they have to follow the law, even if it is a horrible one like Obamacare.
Though this conclusion is not final, it appears that Comet ISON was destroyed today in its close fly-by of the Sun.
Though this conclusion is not final, it appears that Comet ISON was destroyed today in its close fly-by of the Sun.
A sad end to what has been a cometary disappointment. First spotted while it was very far from the Sun, astronomers thus hoped that Comet ISON would blaze brightly when it got closer. Instead, it hardly brightened at all during its journey inward, barely reaching naked eye visibility in the last week. Now it appears to be gone forever.
Scientists will gain some knowledge from this comet, as it was a first time visitor to the inner solar system and thus provides information about the solar system’s beginnings. Nonetheless, for those of us that enjoy watching the beautiful things the heavens give us, this comet will always remain a dud.
A cancer patient who went on Fox to talk about how Obamacare has made him lose his health insurance is now being audited by the IRS.
Working for the Democratic Party: A cancer patient who went on Fox to talk about how Obamacare has made him lose his health insurance is now being audited by the IRS.
Another way to describe this despicable behavior by the Obama Administration and the IRS is that they are fascist, jack-booted thugs. But that would be uncivil of me, even if it is entirely accurate.
Update: The insurance broker who saw the Fox news report and then helped the cancer patient keep his insurance is now also being audited.
A new housecat-sized feline species has been discovered in Brazil.
A new housecat-sized feline species has been discovered in Brazil.
Oncillas are housecat-size felines found throughout much of South America, and are also known as little tiger cats, little spotted cats or tigrinas. But not all oncillas are the same: New research suggests that little tiger cats in northeastern Brazil belong to a different species from those elsewhere on the continent, although they look virtually identical.
Researchers analyzed the genetic material of oncillas in northeastern Brazil, and compared them with nearby populations in the south. They found that there was no flow of genes between the two populations of oncillas, and hasn’t been any for millennia, according to the study, published today (Nov. 27) in the journal Current Biology.
This, along with other genetic differences, led researchers to conclude the two populations do not interbreed and are in fact different species, said study co-author Eduardo Eizirik, a researcher at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.