Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
The $23-Million Textbook
More details, including images, of China’s proposed space station.
More details, including images, of China’s proposed space station.
The countdown for Endeavour’s last launch has begun
The countdown for Endeavour’s last launch has begun.
Confirmed: one of two tickets for lunar flyby has been sold
Confirmed: one of two tickets for a lunar flyby on a Soyuz has been sold. More here.
Last Typewriter Factory in the World Shuts Its Doors
Technology marches on: The last typewriter factory in the world has shut down.
China looking to public to name space station
China is asking the public to name its space station.
A hotel carved out of a mountain
In Turkey: A hotel carved out of a mountain.
One of the largest statues of an Egyptian pharaoh unearthed in Luxor
One of the largest statues of an Egyptian pharaoh ever found has been unearthed in Luxor.
SETI suspends operations
Out of funds, SETI has suspended operations while it looks for new investors.
Japan’s tsunami waves top historic heights
Japan’s tsunami in March produced the largest waves in history.
Some waves grew to more than 100 feet high, breaking historic records, as they squeezed between fingers of land surrounding port towns.
To me, however, this is the biggest takeaway:
Although terrible, the preliminary estimate also finds a better-than 92% survival rate for people living in coastal towns hit by the waves, Bourgeois says. “In that sense, given the magnitude of the unexpectedly large earthquake, things could have been even worse,” she says.
Good grammar equals white oppression
Modern educational theory: Good grammar equals white oppression.
World’s smelliest flower opens for the first time in 75 years
The world’s smelliest flower has bloomed for the first time in 75 years.
Past House GOP Tactic Proves Useless to Democrats
A past House GOP parliamentary tactic is proving useless to Democrats.
This article is instructive in giving a sense of where the political winds are strongest. The Republicans stand firm, because they feel the public will support them in their votes. The Democrats, meanwhile, caved frequently in the last Congress out of fear of losing the next election, a fear that was proven justified.
Shell abandons oil drilling plans in Alaska after EPA ruling
And Obama wonders why oil prices are high? Shell has abandoned its oil drilling plans in Alaska after an EPA regulatory board denied it permits. This after the oil company had spent $4 billion over five years developing those plans. To me, the quote below reveals much about the political agenda behind the EPA’s decision:
The Environmental Appeals Board has four members: Edward Reich, Charles Sheehan, Kathie Stein and Anna Wolgast. All are registered Democrats and Kathie Stein was an activist attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund.
U.S. Forest Service closes more caves
An excellent editorial on the U.S. Forest Service’s decision to shutter more caves. Key quote:
The closures . . . seem like an overreaching government solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. The Forest Service could certainly be spending its time in more constructive ways – like taking public comment on the “emergency” closures, which are set to start May 1.
NASA puts spacecraft above rockets in its commercial funding
In picking the winners for its commercial manned space subsidizes, NASA gave more priority to the spacecraft — either capsules or spaceplane — above the rockets needed to launch it.
Muslim policemen shouting “Allahu akbar” open fire on Jews praying at Joseph’s Tomb
Muslim policemen shouting “Allahu akbar” open fire on Jews praying at Joseph’s Tomb, killing 2 and injuring five.
And yet, it is Terry Jones who is criticized and imprisoned for wanting to stand in front of a mosque in the U.S. with a protest sign.
The world, and justice, is upside down.
U.S. border guards seize Easter eggs
More government foolishness: U.S. border guards seize chocolate Easter eggs.
Will fewer humans in space lead to more robot explorers?
Eric Berger at the Houston Chronicle asks: Will fewer humans in space lead to more robot explorers?
In a word, no. In the past fifty years, every time the budget of the manned space program has been cut, the unmanned program shrank as well. And every time the budget of manned space grew, so did the budget for unmanned missions.