Graham Chapman’s funeral
An evening pause: On the anniversary of his death in 1989, this is how the crew of Monty Python eulogized Graham Chapman at his funeral.
Deep Impact fired its engines today to adjust its orbit, giving it the option of visiting a near Earth asteroid in the future.
Deep Impact fired its engines today to adjust its orbit, giving it the option of visiting a near Earth asteroid in the future.
The press release is very vague about this future mission. I suspect there is a question of funding, which means that even if they can go to the asteroid, they might not have the funds to staff the mission.
Deep Impact fired its engines today to adjust its orbit, giving it the option of visiting a near Earth asteroid in the future.
The press release is very vague about this future mission. I suspect there is a question of funding, which means that even if they can go to the asteroid, they might not have the funds to staff the mission.
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 or any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. 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
Astronomers have discovered a star that circles the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way in only 11.5 years.
Dizzy: Astronomers have discovered a star that circles the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way in only 11.5 years.
This newly discovered star joins another that is 15 times brighter and has a 16 year orbit. The combined orbital data from both will allow astronomers to measure precisely the size of the black hole while also measuring the distortion of space caused by its intense gravitational field.
Dizzy: Astronomers have discovered a star that circles the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way in only 11.5 years.
This newly discovered star joins another that is 15 times brighter and has a 16 year orbit. The combined orbital data from both will allow astronomers to measure precisely the size of the black hole while also measuring the distortion of space caused by its intense gravitational field.
Why it costs so much to buy WiFi on an airplane.
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.
The Mexican government has confirmed that three of the guns used to massacre 15 teenagers were obtained by the killers under the Obama administrations’ Fast-and-Furious operation.
The Mexican government has confirmed that three of the guns used to massacre 15 teenagers were obtained by the killers under the Obama administrations’ Fast-and-Furious operation.
The Mexican government has confirmed that three of the guns used to massacre 15 teenagers were obtained by the killers under the Obama administrations’ Fast-and-Furious operation.
A new study has found that scientific misconduct and fraud is on the rise.
A new study has found that scientific misconduct and fraud is on the rise.
A review of retractions in medical and biological peer-reviewed journals finds the percentage of studies withdrawn because of fraud or suspected fraud has jumped substantially since the mid-1970s. In 1976, there were fewer than 10 fraud retractions for every 1 million studies published, compared with 96 retractions per million in 2007.
The study’s authors suggest that the high pressure of big science might be a cause, combined with an overall decline in our culture itself. I wonder if the influence of government money, granted not because of good science but in the service of a political agenda, might also be a contributing factor.
A new study has found that scientific misconduct and fraud is on the rise.
A review of retractions in medical and biological peer-reviewed journals finds the percentage of studies withdrawn because of fraud or suspected fraud has jumped substantially since the mid-1970s. In 1976, there were fewer than 10 fraud retractions for every 1 million studies published, compared with 96 retractions per million in 2007.
The study’s authors suggest that the high pressure of big science might be a cause, combined with an overall decline in our culture itself. I wonder if the influence of government money, granted not because of good science but in the service of a political agenda, might also be a contributing factor.
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
A high school teacher threatened a student last Friday for wearing a Romney t-shirt on dress-down day.
Leftwing tolerance: A high school teacher in Philadelphia threatened a student last Friday for wearing a Romney t-shirt on dress-down day.
The teacher allegedly told the girl to take off the shirt, saying it was like wearing a Ku Klux Klan sheet. The teacher allegedly threatened to use a marker to cross out Romney’s name and that of Rep. Paul Ryan, his running mate. The teacher also allegedly tried to throw the student out of class. The teacher also allegedly said that Carroll was “a Democratic school.”
Leftwing tolerance: A high school teacher in Philadelphia threatened a student last Friday for wearing a Romney t-shirt on dress-down day.
The teacher allegedly told the girl to take off the shirt, saying it was like wearing a Ku Klux Klan sheet. The teacher allegedly threatened to use a marker to cross out Romney’s name and that of Rep. Paul Ryan, his running mate. The teacher also allegedly tried to throw the student out of class. The teacher also allegedly said that Carroll was “a Democratic school.”
George Zimmerman is suing NBC over its false edit of an audiotape that made him appear racist.
Go for it: George Zimmerman is suing NBC over its false edit of an audiotape that made him appear racist.
Go for it: George Zimmerman is suing NBC over its false edit of an audiotape that made him appear racist.
The Dragon capsule has been attached to the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for Sunday’s launch.
The competition heats up: The Dragon capsule has been attached to the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for Sunday’s launch.
The competition heats up: The Dragon capsule has been attached to the Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for Sunday’s launch.
In order to get a seat on a Soyuz capsule Sarah Brightman outbid NASA, bumping its astronaut out and thus forcing the U.S. agency to finally agree to a year long mission.
Irony of ironies: In order to buy her seat on a Soyuz capsule Sarah Brightman outbid NASA, bumping its astronaut out.
This was a win-win for the Russians. They get paid more by Brightman than by NASA (over $51 million), and they finally get that year long mission they’ve been campaigning for for years. Because Brightman has taken one of NASA’s seats, the U.S. agency was forced to agree to the extended mission in order to maintain a presence on the station throughout that time period. Otherwise, their astronaut would come home and be replaced by Brightman, but for only ten days.
Irony of ironies: In order to buy her seat on a Soyuz capsule Sarah Brightman outbid NASA, bumping its astronaut out.
This was a win-win for the Russians. They get paid more by Brightman than by NASA (over $51 million), and they finally get that year long mission they’ve been campaigning for for years. Because Brightman has taken one of NASA’s seats, the U.S. agency was forced to agree to the extended mission in order to maintain a presence on the station throughout that time period. Otherwise, their astronaut would come home and be replaced by Brightman, but for only ten days.
First Kids – Ghosts
An evening pause: An evocative song from a musical that is presently in development.
What I like about this video is how it reminds us that every image, every movie we see, especially the older ones, can only show us a image of a human being that no longer exists, and is essentially nothing more than a ghost to us.
Astronomers have identified the same kind of minerals found in comets in the dusty disk surrounding the nearby star Beta Pictoris.
Astronomers have identified the same kind of minerals found in comets in our solar system in the dusty disk surrounding the nearby star Beta Pictoris.
Astronomers have identified the same kind of minerals found in comets in our solar system in the dusty disk surrounding the nearby star Beta Pictoris.
The Obama administration’s promise to reimburse any fines issued to employers who violate the law is the equivalent to a “mini-coup” according to one senator.
The law is such an inconvenient thing: The Obama administration’s promise to reimburse any fines issued to employers who violate the law is the equivalent to “a mini-coup,” according to one senator.
The law is such an inconvenient thing: The Obama administration’s promise to reimburse any fines issued to employers who violate the law is the equivalent to “a mini-coup,” according to one senator.
New research has now documented the widespread bigotry of liberals in the academic community against conservatives.
Leftwing tolerance: New research has now documented the widespread bigotry of liberals in the academic community against conservatives.
Hostility toward and willingness to discriminate against conservatives is widespread. One in six respondents said that she or he would be somewhat (or more) inclined to discriminate against conservatives in inviting them for symposia or reviewing their work. One in four would discriminate in reviewing their grant applications. More than one in three would discriminate against them when making hiring decisions. Thus, willingness to discriminate is not limited to small decisions. In fact, it is strongest when it comes to the most important decisions, such as grant applications and hiring.
This behavior is hateful, prejudiced, intolerant, and close-minded. And it is occurring against individuals merely because they disagree with the accepted orthodoxy of liberal academia. Worse, it is occurring in our universities among the educated elites of our society. Such close-mindedness among the educated cannot bode well for our society’s future.
Leftwing tolerance: New research has now documented the widespread bigotry of liberals in the academic community against conservatives.
Hostility toward and willingness to discriminate against conservatives is widespread. One in six respondents said that she or he would be somewhat (or more) inclined to discriminate against conservatives in inviting them for symposia or reviewing their work. One in four would discriminate in reviewing their grant applications. More than one in three would discriminate against them when making hiring decisions. Thus, willingness to discriminate is not limited to small decisions. In fact, it is strongest when it comes to the most important decisions, such as grant applications and hiring.
This behavior is hateful, prejudiced, intolerant, and close-minded. And it is occurring against individuals merely because they disagree with the accepted orthodoxy of liberal academia. Worse, it is occurring in our universities among the educated elites of our society. Such close-mindedness among the educated cannot bode well for our society’s future.
Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope astronomers have narrowed the universe’s rate of expansion to about 74.3 kilometers per second per megaparsec.
The uncertainty of science: Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope astronomers have narrowed the universe’s rate of expansion to about 74.3 kilometers per second per megaparsec.
The importance of this number, also called the Hubble Constant, is that it allows astronomers to extrapolate more precisely backward to when they believe the Big Bang occurred, about 13.7 billion years ago. It also is a crucial data point in their effort to understand dark energy, in which this expansion rate is actually accelerating on vast scales.
Back in 1995 a team led by Wendy Freedman, the same scientist leading the work above, announced that they had used the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the expansion rate as 80 kilometers per second per megaparsec. Then, the margin of error was plus or minus 17 kilometers. Now the margin of error has been narrowed to plus or minus 2.1 kilometers.
Do I believe these new numbers? No, not really. Science has nothing to do with belief. I do think this is good science, however, and that this new estimate of the Hubble constant is probably the best yet. I would also not be surprised if in the future new data eventually proves this estimate wrong.
The uncertainty of science: Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope astronomers have narrowed the universe’s rate of expansion to about 74.3 kilometers per second per megaparsec.
The importance of this number, also called the Hubble Constant, is that it allows astronomers to extrapolate more precisely backward to when they believe the Big Bang occurred, about 13.7 billion years ago. It also is a crucial data point in their effort to understand dark energy, in which this expansion rate is actually accelerating on vast scales.
Back in 1995 a team led by Wendy Freedman, the same scientist leading the work above, announced that they had used the Hubble Space Telescope to determine the expansion rate as 80 kilometers per second per megaparsec. Then, the margin of error was plus or minus 17 kilometers. Now the margin of error has been narrowed to plus or minus 2.1 kilometers.
Do I believe these new numbers? No, not really. Science has nothing to do with belief. I do think this is good science, however, and that this new estimate of the Hubble constant is probably the best yet. I would also not be surprised if in the future new data eventually proves this estimate wrong.
An elderly couple in California have received death threats and their property vandalized because they put a Romney sign on their front lawn.
Leftwing civility: An elderly couple in California have received death threats and their property vandalized because they put a Romney sign on their front lawn.
Leftwing civility: An elderly couple in California have received death threats and their property vandalized because they put a Romney sign on their front lawn.
A vehicle powered by cheese has set a speed record for its class.
The new Milky Way
This is a wonderful article, outlining (with video!) the present state of knowledge about the past, present, and future of our home galaxy.
This is a wonderful article, outlining (with video!) the present state of knowledge about the past, present, and future of our home galaxy.
The head of Russia’s manned program said today that the first yearlong mission on ISS will begin in March 2015.
The head of Russia’s manned program said today that the first yearlong mission on ISS will begin in March 2015.
This appears to be another case of the Russians trying to use the media to pressure NASA into agreeing to the mission. I hope it works.
The head of Russia’s manned program said today that the first yearlong mission on ISS will begin in March 2015.
This appears to be another case of the Russians trying to use the media to pressure NASA into agreeing to the mission. I hope it works.
True the Vote has found more examples of voters voting in more than one state, this time in New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida.Vote early and often! True the Vote has found more examples of voters voting in more than one state, this time in New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida.
Vote early and often! True the Vote has found more examples of voters voting in more than one state, this time in New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida.
Vote early and often! True the Vote has found more examples of voters voting in more than one state, this time in New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Florida.
John Williams & Richard Harvey – Jig
Felix Baumgartner has set October 8 as the day he will attempt his record-setting sky-dive from almost 23 miles high.
Felix Baumgartner has set October 8 as the day he will attempt his record-setting sky-dive from almost 23 miles high.
Felix Baumgartner has set October 8 as the day he will attempt his record-setting sky-dive from almost 23 miles high.
Diederik Stapel, the psychologist who had fabricated his results in numerous published papers and has since resigned, is now under investigation by Dutch prosecutors.
Diederik Stapel, the psychologist who had fabricated his results in numerous published papers and has since resigned, is now under investigation by Dutch prosecutors.
Twenty-five of Stapel’s papers have now been retracted.
Diederik Stapel, the psychologist who had fabricated his results in numerous published papers and has since resigned, is now under investigation by Dutch prosecutors.
Twenty-five of Stapel’s papers have now been retracted.
Polar bear fraud
The scientist famous for identifying drowning polar bears in the Arctic has been reprimanded for leaking emails and following “inappropriate” procurement procedures at his job at the Department of Interior.
The investigation also criticized the scientist, Charles Monnett, for fudging his data in reporting the death of the polar bears, a report that the global warming movement used extensively to falsely prove that global warming was causing the destruction of the polar bear population.
The Nature story above tries to make light of Monnett’s misconduct, especially in connection with his polar bear report as well as his work in awarding contracts. The report itself [pdf] is far more harsh.
In connection with Monnett’s contract work, it appears he actually helped one contractor write his proposal, then sat on the board that awarded the contract to that contractor.
» Read more
Light posting
Just a note to explain the light posting yesterday and possibly today. I am reviewing the proof for the new ebook edition of my first book, Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8. Because the book is now out of print in both hardback and paperback, I want to have this new edition published and available for sale before the end of this month, which is why I must focus on getting that done quickly.
Just a note to explain the light posting yesterday and possibly today. I am reviewing the proof for the new ebook edition of my first book, Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8. Because the book is now out of print in both hardback and paperback, I want to have this new edition published and available for sale before the end of this month, which is why I must focus on getting that done quickly.
A college professor, offended by comments on a free speech wall, forces the students to take it down.
Free speech for me but not for thee: A college professor, offended by comments on a free speech wall, forces the students to take it down.
Free speech for me but not for thee: A college professor, offended by comments on a free speech wall, forces the students to take it down.
Loreena McKennitt – The Bonny Swans
The weather in Gale Crater on Mars: warmer than expected.
The first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was rolled to the launchpad today.
The competition heats up: The first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was rolled to the launchpad today for testing.
The competition heats up: The first stage of Orbital Sciences’ Antares rocket was rolled to the launchpad today for testing.