Governor Bobby Jindal’s letter rejecting Obamacare implementation
Good for him: Governor Bobby Jindal puts his rejection of Obamacare in writing.
Good for him: Governor Bobby Jindal puts his rejection of Obamacare in writing.
Author: Robert Zimmerman
Governor Bobby Jindal’s letter rejecting Obamacare implementation
Hostess Brands — already in bankruptcy — has decided to shut down because one of its unions refused to end a strike.
Be careful what you wish for: Hostess Brands — already in bankruptcy — has decided to shut down because one of its unions refused to end a strike.
The closing will result in Hostess’ nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide, as well as 570 outlet stores. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union represents around 5,000 Hostess employees. “We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” said CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement.
So, because 5,000 union workers wanted more from a company that had nothing more to give, 18,500 lose their jobs, including those same union workers.
Sounds sensible, and right in line with most leftwing math.
Be careful what you wish for: Hostess Brands — already in bankruptcy — has decided to shut down because one of its unions refused to end a strike.
The closing will result in Hostess’ nearly 18,500 workers losing their jobs as the company shuts 33 bakeries and 565 distribution centers nationwide, as well as 570 outlet stores. The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union represents around 5,000 Hostess employees. “We deeply regret the necessity of today’s decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike,” said CEO Gregory Rayburn in a statement.
So, because 5,000 union workers wanted more from a company that had nothing more to give, 18,500 lose their jobs, including those same union workers.
Sounds sensible, and right in line with most leftwing math.
Five ways to protect yourself from Obamacare.
Five ways to protect yourself from Obamacare.
It’s coming and you asked for it. And no one can yet guess how many problems it will cause.
Five ways to protect yourself from Obamacare.
It’s coming and you asked for it. And no one can yet guess how many problems it will cause.
Dust devils and radiation in Gale Crater.
Dust devils and radiation in Gale Crater.
Dust devils and radiation in Gale Crater.
More on why that communications cable was cut at Russian mission control.
More on why that communications cable was cut at Russian mission control.
It appears that because of routine maintenance of other equipment, the company that controlled the cable was supposed to mark it so that the repair crew would leave it alone. That repair company is now claiming that the marking never happened.
More on why that communications cable was cut at Russian mission control.
It appears that because of routine maintenance of other equipment, the company that controlled the cable was supposed to mark it so that the repair crew would leave it alone. That repair company is now claiming that the marking never happened.
The pie crusts of Mercury.
ENYA – Book of Days
The Democratic senator seeking the chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee has refused to promise to write a budget next year.
What Americans apparently wanted: The Democratic senator seeking the chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee has refused to promise to write a budget next year.
This will be the fourth year in a row that the Democrats in the Senate have failed to write a budget. And note, they don’t need a single Republican vote to do it, since budget bills cannot be fillibusted.
As I like to say, the day of reckoning looms.
What Americans apparently wanted: The Democratic senator seeking the chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee has refused to promise to write a budget next year.
This will be the fourth year in a row that the Democrats in the Senate have failed to write a budget. And note, they don’t need a single Republican vote to do it, since budget bills cannot be fillibusted.
As I like to say, the day of reckoning looms.
An exhumation of the body of Danish astronomy Tycho Brahe has proven he was not murdered.
An exhumation of the body of Danish astronomy Tycho Brahe has proven he was not murdered as speculated by some.
An exhumation of the body of Danish astronomy Tycho Brahe has proven he was not murdered as speculated by some.
SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket has made its highest leap yet, almost 20 feet.
SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket has made its highest leap yet, almost 20 feet.
This is only a test vehicle for developing the engineering of a reusable rocket that can land vertically.
SpaceX’s Grasshopper rocket has made its highest leap yet, almost 20 feet.
This is only a test vehicle for developing the engineering of a reusable rocket that can land vertically.
The Subaru telescope in Hawaii has taken an image of an exoplanet.
The Subaru telescope in Hawaii has taken an image of an exoplanet.
The press release is not clear, but I think this is an image in optical wavelengths, which I also think is a first.
Update: on further research, it turns out the image is in the infrared, not optical. Nonetheless, it is a remarkable image, and will make possible some interesting spectroscopic research.
The Subaru telescope in Hawaii has taken an image of an exoplanet.
The press release is not clear, but I think this is an image in optical wavelengths, which I also think is a first.
Update: on further research, it turns out the image is in the infrared, not optical. Nonetheless, it is a remarkable image, and will make possible some interesting spectroscopic research.
The Higgs boson has once again been confirmed with new data, and the scientists are disappointed!
The Higgs boson has once again been confirmed with new data, and the scientists are disappointed!
Alas, most of the Higgs results being presented this week at the Hadron Collider Physics symposium in Kyoto, Japan, have been well within our standard understanding. Physicists at ATLAS and CMS, the two largest particle detectors at the LHC, have about double the amount of data they did in July; this new data hasn’t dramatically changed the tentative conclusion that the LHC is seeing a plain-old Standard Model Higgs.
In other words, the theories are proving to be just about exactly right. No big surprises, which means no new mysteries to solve.
The Higgs boson has once again been confirmed with new data, and the scientists are disappointed!
Alas, most of the Higgs results being presented this week at the Hadron Collider Physics symposium in Kyoto, Japan, have been well within our standard understanding. Physicists at ATLAS and CMS, the two largest particle detectors at the LHC, have about double the amount of data they did in July; this new data hasn’t dramatically changed the tentative conclusion that the LHC is seeing a plain-old Standard Model Higgs.
In other words, the theories are proving to be just about exactly right. No big surprises, which means no new mysteries to solve.
The Russians have repaired the severed cable that had cut off their communications with ISS and space.
The Russians have repaired the severed cable that had cut off their communications with ISS and space.
The article notes that this failure was never a critical problem for ISS, pointing out that there was a back up communications route in the U.S., and that the astronauts on board are trained to work independent of the ground. Though both these points are true, what the article doesn’t mention is that much of the American half of ISS has been built to be run from the American mission control. It is not like Mir, which was designed to be as self-sufficient as possible. The result is that though a communications break in Russia is not really critical, a communications break in the U.S. might be.
The Russians have repaired the severed cable that had cut off their communications with ISS and space.
The article notes that this failure was never a critical problem for ISS, pointing out that there was a back up communications route in the U.S., and that the astronauts on board are trained to work independent of the ground. Though both these points are true, what the article doesn’t mention is that much of the American half of ISS has been built to be run from the American mission control. It is not like Mir, which was designed to be as self-sufficient as possible. The result is that though a communications break in Russia is not really critical, a communications break in the U.S. might be.
Scientists have found that the method used by the IPCC to measure droughts has significantly overestimated their number during the the past 60 years.
The uncertainty of science: Scientists have found that the method used by the IPCC to measure droughts has significantly overestimated their number during the the past 60 years.
Although previous studies have suggested that droughts have increased over that 60-year period, the team’s new analysis hints that the increase in drought has been substantially overestimated. For instance, the new assessment technique found that between 1980 and 2008, the global area stricken by drought grew by approximately 0.08% per year—less than one-seventh the increase estimated by the temperature-only [IPCC method].
The IPCC and the global warming activists that run it had claimed that the warming climate was causing more droughts. It turns out that claim was essentially false. The number of droughts has apparently not gone up. Note that this fact is actually not a surprise to those who have read the IPCC reports carefully. Deep down past their simplistic summaries, the reports have consistently pointed out that these conclusions were very uncertain and could be found to be wrong.
Not surprisingly, the article above spends a lot of time trying to rationalize this new data, quoting one scientist who insists there is nothing to see here, move on! The trouble is that there is plenty to see here. Our knowledge of the climate remains very incomplete.
The uncertainty of science: Scientists have found that the method used by the IPCC to measure droughts has significantly overestimated their number during the the past 60 years.
Although previous studies have suggested that droughts have increased over that 60-year period, the team’s new analysis hints that the increase in drought has been substantially overestimated. For instance, the new assessment technique found that between 1980 and 2008, the global area stricken by drought grew by approximately 0.08% per year—less than one-seventh the increase estimated by the temperature-only [IPCC method].
The IPCC and the global warming activists that run it had claimed that the warming climate was causing more droughts. It turns out that claim was essentially false. The number of droughts has apparently not gone up. Note that this fact is actually not a surprise to those who have read the IPCC reports carefully. Deep down past their simplistic summaries, the reports have consistently pointed out that these conclusions were very uncertain and could be found to be wrong.
Not surprisingly, the article above spends a lot of time trying to rationalize this new data, quoting one scientist who insists there is nothing to see here, move on! The trouble is that there is plenty to see here. Our knowledge of the climate remains very incomplete.
Vanishing water
A planet without a star, only 100 light years away.
A planet without a star, only 100 light years away.
A planet without a star, only 100 light years away.
The accidental cutting of a communications cable has cut off Russia’s mission control from ISS and many of its satellites.
The accidental cutting of a communications cable has cut off Russia’s mission control from ISS and many of its satellites.
They have rerouted communications to ISS through mission control in Houston, so the station has not been seriously effected by this accident.
The accidental cutting of a communications cable has cut off Russia’s mission control from ISS and many of its satellites.
They have rerouted communications to ISS through mission control in Houston, so the station has not been seriously effected by this accident.
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain – Orange Blossom
The discovery of volcanoes on Io
On March 8, 1979, as Voyager 1 was speeding away from Jupiter after its historic flyby of the gas giant three days earlier, it looked back at the planet and took some navigational images. Linda Morabito, one of the engineers in charge of using these navigational images to make sure the spacecraft was on its planned course, took one look at the image on the right, an overexposed image of the moon Io, and decided that it had captured something very unusual. On the limb of the moon was this strange shape that at first glance looked like another moon partly hidden behind Io. She and her fellow engineers immediately realized that this was not possible, and that the object was probably a plume coming up from the surface of Io. To their glee, they had taken the first image of an eruption of active volcano on another world!
Today, on the astro-ph preprint website, Morabito has published a minute-by-minute account of that discovery. It makes for fascinating reading, partly because the discovery was so exciting and unique, partly because it illustrated starkly the human nature of science research, and partly because of the amazing circumstances of that discovery. Only one week before, scientists has predicted active volcanism on Io in a paper published in the journal Science. To quote her abstract:
» Read more
Engineers have switched Mars Odyssey to its backup navigation equipment in order to save the failing primary system.
Engineers have switched Mars Odyssey to its backup navigation equipment in order to save the failing primary system.
Engineers have switched Mars Odyssey to its backup navigation equipment in order to save the failing primary system.
Celtic Thunder – Caledonia
An evening pause: Ignore the hokey choreography and listen to the music, which is wonderfully performed.
SpaceOps is looking for funding to build its private spacecraft modeled after the American Gemini capsule.
Got money to invest? SpaceOps is looking for funds to build its private spacecraft modeled after the American Gemini capsule.
The idea is a good one, as the Gemini capsule was quite capable. Getting almost $100 million from crowd-sourcing however is going to be very tough.
Got money to invest? SpaceOps is looking for funds to build its private spacecraft modeled after the American Gemini capsule.
The idea is a good one, as the Gemini capsule was quite capable. Getting almost $100 million from crowd-sourcing however is going to be very tough.
The orbital debris from the exploded upper stage of the failed Proton launch in August now totals over 100 pieces.
The orbital debris from the exploded upper stage of the failed Proton launch in August now totals over 100 pieces.
The orbital debris from the exploded upper stage of the failed Proton launch in August now totals over 100 pieces.
on the road
Today I am heading to Atlanta, Georgia to give a lecture to Atlanta section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The subject: How the Russians overtook the United States in space.
Because of travel posting might be lighter than normal, though usually when I am in an airport posting is exactly what I do.
Today I am heading to Atlanta, Georgia to give a lecture to Atlanta section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The subject: How the Russians overtook the United States in space.
Because of travel posting might be lighter than normal, though usually when I am in an airport posting is exactly what I do.
Katherine Jenkins – Hymn to the Fallen
China’s 2013 missions: another manned flight and a lunar landing.
The competition heats up: China in 2013: another manned flight and an unmanned lunar landing.
The competition heats up: China in 2013: another manned flight and an unmanned lunar landing.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame – God Help the Outcasts
An evening pause: On this day, the 74th anniversary of the start of Krystalnacht in Germany, some appropriate and beautiful music from the animated film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).
A space plane from China?
The images don’t provide much information, and most of the article is empty speculation. Nonetheless, China is building something.
The images don’t provide much information, and most of the article is empty speculation. Nonetheless, China is building something.
Obamacare is still vulnerable.
Amen! Obamacare is still vulnerable.
One way or the other, this monstrosity is going to crash. Better that we keep fighting to kill it now rather then wait for it to do endless harm and then fail. And since a majority of state governors are Republican, they shouldn’t back down but keep up the fight. Moreover, despite Romney’s loss the election was still close and Obamacare remains deeply unpopular. There is plenty of support for killing it. The Republicans should not back down.
Amen! Obamacare is still vulnerable.
One way or the other, this monstrosity is going to crash. Better that we keep fighting to kill it now rather then wait for it to do endless harm and then fail. And since a majority of state governors are Republican, they shouldn’t back down but keep up the fight. Moreover, despite Romney’s loss the election was still close and Obamacare remains deeply unpopular. There is plenty of support for killing it. The Republicans should not back down.