Insane Clown Posse – Miracles
An evening pause: The miracle of the universe as seen by two rappers. Worth watching and listening to, even if you are not a fan of rap. They get it.
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:
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Rod Stewart & Amy Belle – I Dont Want To Talk About It
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, 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 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
Boeing and the fear of competition
Boeing has indicated that it might shelve its CST-100 manned capsule, despite their recent almost half a billion dollar contract award from NASA.
This possibility illustrates why Boeing is losing market share, not only in space, but in the aviation industry. The article suggests that the NASA contract might not be enough to pay for CST-100, and that Boeing is unsure there is enough private market to make up the difference.
“That’s just for the ISS. That’s kind of the basement,” adds Elbon. More flights than those to the ISS are required he says, and Boeing is cautious about over-committing itself while future revenue streams are unclear.
I say bull hockey.
» Read more
“Bias” is no longer a suitable description of the character of the media establishment. “Partisan toadies” may be a better one.
“Brainless fools” is another term I like. Also “Pravda.” “Irresponsible partisan hacks” also comes to mind. Consider this:
» Read more
“Brainless fools” is another term I like. Also “Pravda.” “Irresponsible partisan hacks” also comes to mind. Consider this:
» Read more
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. All editions can also be purchased direct from the ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from the author (hardback $29.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $6.00). Just send an email to zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
An avionics unit in the Soyuz capsule to be used to fly three astronauts to ISS later this month had problems in testing which required its replacement.
So that was what caused the delay: An avionics unit in the Soyuz capsule to be used to fly three astronauts to ISS later this month had problems in testing which required its replacement.
So that was what caused the delay: An avionics unit in the Soyuz capsule to be used to fly three astronauts to ISS later this month had problems in testing which required its replacement.
Luciano Pavarotti and Queen – Too much love will kill you
Leaving Earth: Space Stations, Rival Superpowers, and the Quest for Interplanetary Travel, can be purchased as an ebook everywhere for only $3.99 (before discount) at amazon, Barnes & Noble, all ebook vendors, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big oppressive tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Winner of the 2003 Eugene M. Emme Award of the American Astronautical Society.
"Leaving Earth is one of the best and certainly the most comprehensive summary of our drive into space that I have ever read. It will be invaluable to future scholars because it will tell them how the next chapter of human history opened." -- Arthur C. Clarke
This year’s Ig Noble Awards have been announced.
This year’s Ig Noble Awards have been announced.
I especially like the research where scientists performed MRI brain scans on pumpkins, Cornish hens, and dead fish. And they even got a signal from the dead fish!
This year’s Ig Noble Awards have been announced.
I especially like the research where scientists performed MRI brain scans on pumpkins, Cornish hens, and dead fish. And they even got a signal from the dead fish!
France and Germany in the European Space Agency are at loggerheads about the best way to compete in the launch market.
The competition heats up: France and Germany in the European Space Agency are in serious disagreement about whether to replace the Ariane 5 or upgrade it.
The French space agency, CNES, quietly backed by Europe’s Arianespace launch consortium, has argued that the current Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle has only a fragile hold on its current 50 percent commercial market share. Just as important, according to the French reasoning, is that the entire Ariane 5 system, including its ground infrastructure, is expensive to operate and likely to remain so. Because money is short in Europe, it would be preferable to move immediately to a next-generation vehicle that would carry payloads ranging from 2,500 kilograms to 6,000 kilograms — with an extension to 8,000 kilograms — into geostationary transfer orbit, one at a time. This modular vehicle ultimately would replace not only today’s Ariane 5, but also the Russian Soyuz rocket that is now operating from Europe’s Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.
Set against this reasoning are industrial policy issues raised by the German space agency, DLR, and by Astrium, which is Ariane 5’s prime contractor. They say Europe needs to complete development of an upgraded Ariane 5 — at a cost of about 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) — before embarking on a decade-long development of an Ariane 6 whose cost and industrial work-share distribution are unknown. [emphasis mine]
It is very clear that ESA has recognized that once Falcon 9 becomes completely operational, it will be difficult to get anyone to buy tickets on the very expensive Ariane 5. From the article it appears the battle centers on the fact that the French realize this, while the Germans are willing to look the other way.
The competition heats up: France and Germany in the European Space Agency are in serious disagreement about whether to replace the Ariane 5 or upgrade it.
The French space agency, CNES, quietly backed by Europe’s Arianespace launch consortium, has argued that the current Ariane 5 heavy-lift vehicle has only a fragile hold on its current 50 percent commercial market share. Just as important, according to the French reasoning, is that the entire Ariane 5 system, including its ground infrastructure, is expensive to operate and likely to remain so. Because money is short in Europe, it would be preferable to move immediately to a next-generation vehicle that would carry payloads ranging from 2,500 kilograms to 6,000 kilograms — with an extension to 8,000 kilograms — into geostationary transfer orbit, one at a time. This modular vehicle ultimately would replace not only today’s Ariane 5, but also the Russian Soyuz rocket that is now operating from Europe’s Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.
Set against this reasoning are industrial policy issues raised by the German space agency, DLR, and by Astrium, which is Ariane 5’s prime contractor. They say Europe needs to complete development of an upgraded Ariane 5 — at a cost of about 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) — before embarking on a decade-long development of an Ariane 6 whose cost and industrial work-share distribution are unknown. [emphasis mine]
It is very clear that ESA has recognized that once Falcon 9 becomes completely operational, it will be difficult to get anyone to buy tickets on the very expensive Ariane 5. From the article it appears the battle centers on the fact that the French realize this, while the Germans are willing to look the other way.
Butch Cassidy’s Colt 45 revolver will be auctioned off later this month.
Eleven construction workers sit on a girder eating lunch, 800 feet above the ground: The story behind the 1932 picture.
Eleven construction workers sit on a girder eating lunch, 800 feet above the ground: The story behind the 1932 picture.
Eleven construction workers sit on a girder eating lunch, 800 feet above the ground: The story behind the 1932 picture.
The Non-Leadership Act
Six Congressmen have introduced a bill that would have the NASA administrator serve a ten year term, and put the running of the space agency in the hands of an unelected board of directors.
Some details:
» Read more
David Garrett – November Rain
October 7 is now set as the launch date for the first operational cargo flight of Dragon to ISS.
The competition heats up: October 7 has now been set as the launch date for the first operational cargo flight of Dragon to ISS.
The competition heats up: October 7 has now been set as the launch date for the first operational cargo flight of Dragon to ISS.
Newly released results from Dawn have found evidence of hydrogen on the surface of Vesta
Newly released results from Dawn have found evidence of hydrogen on the surface of Vesta, which also suggests that the asteroid once had water. More here.
The article focuses on the possibility that the hydrogen originally came from ice placed there by icy asteroids. While likely, this remains only one possible explanation.
Newly released results from Dawn have found evidence of hydrogen on the surface of Vesta, which also suggests that the asteroid once had water. More here.
The article focuses on the possibility that the hydrogen originally came from ice placed there by icy asteroids. While likely, this remains only one possible explanation.
A Texas school district has banned the use of religious signs at football games, even if created entirely and freely by the students.
A Texas school district has banned the use of religious signs at football games, even if the signs were created entirely and freely by the students.
[According to Kevin Weldon, the district’s superintendent], legal counsel recommended that religious activities not be carried out, even if the are being organized and implemented by students. “Per the advice of TASB Legal, please do not allow any student groups to display any religious signs or messages at school-sponsored events,” the superintendent wrote in a letter to parents who are involved in organizing extracurricular activities.
So, according to the legal counsel for this school district, freedom of religion and speech is outlawed at any government event. What a crock.
The good news is that the students are refusing to back down, and intend to display even more signs at future events.
A Texas school district has banned the use of religious signs at football games, even if the signs were created entirely and freely by the students.
[According to Kevin Weldon, the district’s superintendent], legal counsel recommended that religious activities not be carried out, even if the are being organized and implemented by students. “Per the advice of TASB Legal, please do not allow any student groups to display any religious signs or messages at school-sponsored events,” the superintendent wrote in a letter to parents who are involved in organizing extracurricular activities.
So, according to the legal counsel for this school district, freedom of religion and speech is outlawed at any government event. What a crock.
The good news is that the students are refusing to back down, and intend to display even more signs at future events.
The cost of regulations is 80 times higher than OMB’s estimate, according to the estimates of each individual government agency.
We’re more doomed than we know: The cost of government regulation is actually 80 times higher than OMB’s estimate, according to the estimates made by each individual government agency.
“While OMB officially reports amounts of only up to $88.6 billion in 2010 dollars,” said Crews, “the non-tax cost of government intervention in the economy, without performing a sweeping survey, appears to total up to $1.806 trillion annually.”
The $1.8 trillion number comes from looking at the estimates made by each agency and then adding them up.
We’re more doomed than we know: The cost of government regulation is actually 80 times higher than OMB’s estimate, according to the estimates made by each individual government agency.
“While OMB officially reports amounts of only up to $88.6 billion in 2010 dollars,” said Crews, “the non-tax cost of government intervention in the economy, without performing a sweeping survey, appears to total up to $1.806 trillion annually.”
The $1.8 trillion number comes from looking at the estimates made by each agency and then adding them up.
“Obama observes ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day.'”
Obama today observed ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day.’
The screen capture however from Drudge puts is this in much better context:
Obama today observed ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day.’
The screen capture however from Drudge puts is this in much better context:
Rowan Atkinson – A Warm Welcome
Obamacare: a program in disarray.
Obamacare: a program in disarray.
The critical regulations outlining what the Obamacare insurance benefit will look like was supposed to be out more than six months ago. Now it looks like this regulation won’t be dropped until after the election.
The author then describes each component of the law that is failing in one way or the other. I especially like this paragaph:
The crown jewel of Obamacare’s effort to contain healthcare costs, the creation of Accountable Care Organizations, is so unwieldy that major provider groups have said they won’t participate. The idea is to consolidate doctors, turning them into employees of large systems, and then pay these systems lump sums of money to take care of groups of patients. A letter from 10 major medical groups that previously ran similar programs said, “it would be difficult, if not impossible” to accept the financial design created by Obamacare. In another rebuke, an umbrella group representing premier medical organizations said 90 percent of its members wouldn’t partake.
None of this is a surprise to those who opposed this turkey of a law. We were right to oppose it, and we are right to want it repealed.
Obamacare: a program in disarray.
The critical regulations outlining what the Obamacare insurance benefit will look like was supposed to be out more than six months ago. Now it looks like this regulation won’t be dropped until after the election.
The author then describes each component of the law that is failing in one way or the other. I especially like this paragaph:
The crown jewel of Obamacare’s effort to contain healthcare costs, the creation of Accountable Care Organizations, is so unwieldy that major provider groups have said they won’t participate. The idea is to consolidate doctors, turning them into employees of large systems, and then pay these systems lump sums of money to take care of groups of patients. A letter from 10 major medical groups that previously ran similar programs said, “it would be difficult, if not impossible” to accept the financial design created by Obamacare. In another rebuke, an umbrella group representing premier medical organizations said 90 percent of its members wouldn’t partake.
None of this is a surprise to those who opposed this turkey of a law. We were right to oppose it, and we are right to want it repealed.
Hundreds of peer-reviewed papers in the field of anaesthesiology are about to be retracted because their data was fabricated.
Hundreds of peer-reviewed papers in the field of anesthesiology are about to be retracted because their data was fabricated.
After more than a decade of suspicion about the work of anesthesiologist Yoshitaka Fujii, formerly of Toho University in Tokyo, investigations by journals and universities have concluded that he fabricated data on an epic scale. At least half of the roughly 200 papers he authored on responses to drugs after surgery are in line for retraction in the coming months.
Like many cases of fraud, this one has raised questions about how the misconduct went undetected for so long. But the scope and duration of Fujii’s deception have shaken multiple journals and the entire field of anesthesiology, which has seen other high-profile frauds in the past few years.
Fujii’s work was published in many different journals, where it appears none of his referees ever checked his data. Worse, this is not the first such case in this field.
» Read more
Hundreds of peer-reviewed papers in the field of anesthesiology are about to be retracted because their data was fabricated.
After more than a decade of suspicion about the work of anesthesiologist Yoshitaka Fujii, formerly of Toho University in Tokyo, investigations by journals and universities have concluded that he fabricated data on an epic scale. At least half of the roughly 200 papers he authored on responses to drugs after surgery are in line for retraction in the coming months.
Like many cases of fraud, this one has raised questions about how the misconduct went undetected for so long. But the scope and duration of Fujii’s deception have shaken multiple journals and the entire field of anesthesiology, which has seen other high-profile frauds in the past few years.
Fujii’s work was published in many different journals, where it appears none of his referees ever checked his data. Worse, this is not the first such case in this field.
» Read more
The White House press secretary today “question[ed] the judgment” of someone publishing cartoons critical of Mohammad and Islam.
Cowards: The White House press secretary today “question[ed] the judgment” of someone publishing cartoons critical of Mohammad and Islam.
Carney said the White House supports free speech, but that is a lie if they are not going to defend the use that right in all cases.
Cowards: The White House press secretary today “question[ed] the judgment” of someone publishing cartoons critical of Mohammad and Islam.
Carney said the White House supports free speech, but that is a lie if they are not going to defend the use that right in all cases.
The French prepare for a vibrant debate on free speech from the members of its Islamic community.
The French prepare for a vibrant debate on free speech from the members of its Islamic community.
The worst part of this story isn’t that we expect Muslims to riot because someone said something they don’t like. The worst part is how eager many liberals are to lend these violent thugs quisling support.
Update: If you want to see some of those new Mohammad cartoons from the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, go here.
The French prepare for a vibrant debate on free speech from the members of its Islamic community.
The worst part of this story isn’t that we expect Muslims to riot because someone said something they don’t like. The worst part is how eager many liberals are to lend these violent thugs quisling support.
Update: If you want to see some of those new Mohammad cartoons from the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, go here.
Eight strange rock islets from around the world.
The rocket that will launch the next flight of the X-37B, and the first to return to space, has been assembled.
The rocket that will launch the next flight of the X-37B, and the first to return to space, has been assembled at Cape Canaveral.
The launch is scheduled for sometime in October, and will send the first X-37B into space for its second flight.
The rocket that will launch the next flight of the X-37B, and the first to return to space, has been assembled at Cape Canaveral.
The launch is scheduled for sometime in October, and will send the first X-37B into space for its second flight.
A mural in Oregon.
After postponing Juno’s second midcourse correction burn, engineers have now successfully completed that burn.
After postponing Juno’s second midcourse correction burn last month, engineers have now successfully completed that burn.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully executed a second Deep Space Maneuver, called DSM-2 last Friday, Sept. 14. The 30 minute firing of its main engine refined the Jupiter-bound spacecraft’s trajectory, setting the stage for a gravity assist from a flyby of Earth on Oct 9, 2013. Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016.
After postponing Juno’s second midcourse correction burn last month, engineers have now successfully completed that burn.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft successfully executed a second Deep Space Maneuver, called DSM-2 last Friday, Sept. 14. The 30 minute firing of its main engine refined the Jupiter-bound spacecraft’s trajectory, setting the stage for a gravity assist from a flyby of Earth on Oct 9, 2013. Juno will arrive at Jupiter on July 4, 2016.
Yasuto Tanaka – The Swan
The automatic budget cuts triggered by sequestration appear increasingly likely according to two defense analysts.
Good news: The automatic budget cuts triggered by sequestration appear increasingly likely according to two defense analysts.
Now that the Obama administration has released some details on how these 8.2 and 9.4 percent cuts will be imposed, I find them a refreshing change from business-as-usual in Washington. As far as I can tell, the only thing really wrong with them is that they only scratch the surface of the federal budget debt.
Good news: The automatic budget cuts triggered by sequestration appear increasingly likely according to two defense analysts.
Now that the Obama administration has released some details on how these 8.2 and 9.4 percent cuts will be imposed, I find them a refreshing change from business-as-usual in Washington. As far as I can tell, the only thing really wrong with them is that they only scratch the surface of the federal budget debt.
A four pound meteorite originally from the Moon is up for auction and is expected to sell for more than that $340K.
Own of piece of the Moon: A four pound meteorite originally from the Moon is up for auction and is expected to sell for more than that $340K.
Own of piece of the Moon: A four pound meteorite originally from the Moon is up for auction and is expected to sell for more than that $340K.