Europe’s ISS freighter launches successfully
The federal government shuts down 83,990 websites by mistake
Freedom of speech alert: The federal government shut down 83,990 innocent websites this past weekend, mistakenly labeling them as child porn traffickers.
It was a mistake, I know, but think about how this power can so easily be misused.
Freedom of speech alert: The federal government shut down 83,990 innocent websites this past weekend, mistakenly labeling them as child porn traffickers.
It was a mistake, I know, but think about how this power can so easily be misused.
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
Why more railroad subsidies make no sense
Why high-speed rail makes no sense. Key quote:
High-speed rail would transform Amtrak’s small drain [on the government] into a much larger drain. Once built, high-speed rail systems would face a dilemma. To recoup initial capital costs — construction and train purchases — ticket prices would have to be set so high that few people would choose rail. But lower prices, even with favorable passenger loads, might not cover costs. Government would be stuck with huge subsidies. Even without recovering capital costs, high-speed rail systems would probably run in the red. Most mass-transit systems, despite high ridership, routinely have deficits.
Why high-speed rail makes no sense. Key quote:
High-speed rail would transform Amtrak’s small drain [on the government] into a much larger drain. Once built, high-speed rail systems would face a dilemma. To recoup initial capital costs — construction and train purchases — ticket prices would have to be set so high that few people would choose rail. But lower prices, even with favorable passenger loads, might not cover costs. Government would be stuck with huge subsidies. Even without recovering capital costs, high-speed rail systems would probably run in the red. Most mass-transit systems, despite high ridership, routinely have deficits.
The next flight of the Chinese manned spacecraft could last three weeks
China on the march! The next flight of their Shenzhou manned spacecraft could be a three week unmanned mission designed to test rendezvous and docking with their soon-to-launch Tiangong 1 space laboratory.
China on the march! The next flight of their Shenzhou manned spacecraft could be a three week unmanned mission designed to test rendezvous and docking with their soon-to-launch Tiangong 1 space laboratory.
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 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 delay in the launch of the European cargo ship could delay the next Shuttle launch
The delay yesterday of the launch of the European cargo ship to ISS might also delay the next Shuttle launch.
The delay yesterday of the launch of the European cargo ship to ISS might also delay the next Shuttle launch.
Democratic Congressman says Republicans want kids to get asthma
This is how we rationally debate the budget? Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Washington) today accused Republicans of wanting kids to get asthma by their effort to trim the budget.
This is how we rationally debate the budget? Democratic Congressman Jay Inslee (D-Washington) today accused Republicans of wanting kids to get asthma by their effort to trim the budget.
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
The great wind scam
The great wind scam. Key quote:
“With demand for power at record levels because of the freezing weather, there have been days when the contribution of our forests of wind turbines has been precisely nothing,” wrote Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail Dec. 27. “It gets better,” Mr. Littlejohn continued. “As the temperature has plummeted, the turbines have had to be heated to prevent them from seizing up. Consequently, they have been consuming more electricity than they generate.”
The great wind scam. Key quote:
“With demand for power at record levels because of the freezing weather, there have been days when the contribution of our forests of wind turbines has been precisely nothing,” wrote Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail Dec. 27. “It gets better,” Mr. Littlejohn continued. “As the temperature has plummeted, the turbines have had to be heated to prevent them from seizing up. Consequently, they have been consuming more electricity than they generate.”
New Jersey Governor Christie slams Democrats and Republicans over spending
Right on! New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed both Democrats and Republicans yesterday over out-of-control spending.
Right on! New Jersey Governor Chris Christie slammed both Democrats and Republicans yesterday over out-of-control spending.
Florida Governor Joins Two More in Rejecting Federal High-Speed Rail Spending
The governor of Florida has joined two states in rejecting Obama’s proposed $53 billion federal high-speed rail program.
The governor of Florida has joined two states in rejecting Obama’s proposed $53 billion federal high-speed rail program.
White House Ignores Interest Payments in Claiming to Control Debt
This is beyond belief: The White House has decided to make believe the interest payments required to pay back the federal debt do not exist in their claim that their budget is reducing that debt. Key quote from Senate hearings yesterday:
To justify the administration claim, [White House Budget Director Jack] Lew said the administration was merely referring to “primary balance” — or federal spending minus interest payments. Lew sought to forgive the public for their confusion. “The terminology that we use in Washington of primary balance is a little confusing,” Lew said.
“It’s because I believe it’s dishonest,” [Senator John] Ensign (R-Nevada) shot back.
This is beyond belief: The White House has decided to make believe the interest payments required to pay back the federal debt do not exist in their claim that their budget is reducing that debt. Key quote from Senate hearings yesterday:
To justify the administration claim, [White House Budget Director Jack] Lew said the administration was merely referring to “primary balance” — or federal spending minus interest payments. Lew sought to forgive the public for their confusion. “The terminology that we use in Washington of primary balance is a little confusing,” Lew said.
“It’s because I believe it’s dishonest,” [Senator John] Ensign (R-Nevada) shot back.
BBC – Walk on the Wild Side
“All of you are white. Go to hell!”
Australian space beer ready for micro-gravity test
Debunking gun myths
Computer Crushes the Competition on ‘Jeopardy!’
Study predicts one meter sea level rise by 2010
Wanna bet? A new study predicts the sea will rise by one meter by 2100.
How they come up with this number is a mystery to me, as every study I have read, including every IPCC report, says the sea has been rising about 1 to 2 millimeters per year for the last few centuries. At this rate, it will take between five hundred and a thousand years to get a rise of one meter.
Wanna bet? A new study predicts the sea will rise by one meter by 2100.
How they come up with this number is a mystery to me, as every study I have read, including every IPCC report, says the sea has been rising about 1 to 2 millimeters per year for the last few centuries. At this rate, it will take between five hundred and a thousand years to get a rise of one meter.
Democrats join GOP criticism of Obama’s budget proposal
Holy moley! Do pigs fly? Yesterday Senate Democrats joined Republicans in attacking the timidity of Obama’s budget cuts.
Holy moley! Do pigs fly? Yesterday Senate Democrats joined Republicans in attacking the timidity of Obama’s budget cuts.
Liberal journalist trashes raped CBS reporter because he doesn’t like her politics
Another liberal shows how he tones down the rhetoric: NYU fellow and leftwing journalist Nir Rosen appears to justify the rape of CBS reporter Lara Logan because he doesn’t like her politics. Key quotes:
- “At this moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified, we should at least remember her role as a major war monger.”
- “Lara Logan had to outdo Anderson (Cooper)…but it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson, too.”
- Rosen went on the say that he even doubted she was assaulted saying she “was probably groped like thousands of other women.”
Another liberal shows how he tones down the rhetoric: NYU fellow and leftwing journalist Nir Rosen appears to justify the rape of CBS reporter Lara Logan because he doesn’t like her politics. Key quotes:
- “At this moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified, we should at least remember her role as a major war monger.”
- “Lara Logan had to outdo Anderson (Cooper)…but it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson, too.”
- Rosen went on the say that he even doubted she was assaulted saying she “was probably groped like thousands of other women.”
2 Repubican Utah state lawmakers get threat letter
The left once again shows how it avoids harsh rhetoric: Two Republican Utah state lawmakers get a letter threatening violence for their support of an Arizona-style immigration law.
The left once again shows how it avoids harsh rhetoric: Two Republican Utah state lawmakers get a letter threatening violence for their support of an Arizona-style immigration law.
GOP bill zeroes out programs, puts curbs on Obama initiatives
Another look at the GOP budget cuts: Republican proposal will zero out programs and puts serious limits on many Obama initiatives. Key quote:
“In the last two years, under President Obama, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs,” said [House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio)]. “If some of those jobs are lost, so be it. We’re broke.”
Not surprisingly, Democrats are squealing.
Democrats challenged the 200,000 job number and said he showed a callous attitude toward those who would be out of work. “Maybe ‘so be it’ for him, but not ‘so be it’ for people who are losing their jobs,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii Democrat, said Republicans’ cuts amounted to a “meat cleaver” approach.
Another look at the GOP budget cuts: Republican proposal will zero out programs and puts serious limits on many Obama initiatives. Key quote:
“In the last two years, under President Obama, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs,” said [House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio)]. “If some of those jobs are lost, so be it. We’re broke.”
Not surprisingly, Democrats are squealing.
Democrats challenged the 200,000 job number and said he showed a callous attitude toward those who would be out of work. “Maybe ‘so be it’ for him, but not ‘so be it’ for people who are losing their jobs,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel K. Inouye, Hawaii Democrat, said Republicans’ cuts amounted to a “meat cleaver” approach.
The squealing of Wall Street regulators
Now its Wall Street regulators and their Democratic friends in Congress who are squealing over the Republican budget proposals.
Now its Wall Street regulators and their Democratic friends in Congress who are squealing over the Republican budget proposals.
The launch of Europe’s freighter to ISS delayed one day
Stardust images of comet locate crater from Deep Impact’s impact
More news from Stardust: scientists have now identified what they think is the crater produced by Deep Impact’s impact in 2005. Key quote:
The images revealed a 150-metre-wide crater at the Deep Impact collision point that was not present in 2005. The crater is a subtle feature in the images, but it appears consistently in multiple views from the spacecraft. “So I feel very confident that we did find the [impact] site,” said mission member Peter Schultz of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, at a press briefing on Tuesday. The crater’s features are “subdued” rather than sharply defined, like those of craters made in hard materials like rock. “The message is: This surface of the comet where we hit is very weak,” said Schultz. The crater also has a small mound in its middle, indicating that some of the material thrown up by the impact was drawn by the comet’s gravity back down into the crater, he said: “In a way, it partly buried itself.”
More news from Stardust: scientists have now identified what they think is the crater produced by Deep Impact’s impact in 2005. Key quote:
The images revealed a 150-metre-wide crater at the Deep Impact collision point that was not present in 2005. The crater is a subtle feature in the images, but it appears consistently in multiple views from the spacecraft. “So I feel very confident that we did find the [impact] site,” said mission member Peter Schultz of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, at a press briefing on Tuesday. The crater’s features are “subdued” rather than sharply defined, like those of craters made in hard materials like rock. “The message is: This surface of the comet where we hit is very weak,” said Schultz. The crater also has a small mound in its middle, indicating that some of the material thrown up by the impact was drawn by the comet’s gravity back down into the crater, he said: “In a way, it partly buried itself.”
Two girls and a box
Healthcare Reform Law Requires New IRS Army Of 1,054
Repeal the damn bill! The IRS announced today that it will require over a thousand new agents and $359 million more money to implement Obamacare in 2012. Key quote:
The detailed IRS budget documents spell out exactly what most of the new workforce will be doing. For example, some 81 will be tasked just to handle the tax reporting of 25,000 tanning salons. They face a new 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services. Another 76 will be assigned to make sure businesses engaged in making and imported drugs pay their new fee which is expected to deliver $2.8 billion to the Treasury in 2012 and 2013. The new healthcare corps will also require new facilities and computers.
Repeal the damn bill! The IRS announced today that it will require over a thousand new agents and $359 million more money to implement Obamacare in 2012. Key quote:
The detailed IRS budget documents spell out exactly what most of the new workforce will be doing. For example, some 81 will be tasked just to handle the tax reporting of 25,000 tanning salons. They face a new 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services. Another 76 will be assigned to make sure businesses engaged in making and imported drugs pay their new fee which is expected to deliver $2.8 billion to the Treasury in 2012 and 2013. The new healthcare corps will also require new facilities and computers.
Left livid over Obama budget cuts
Oink! As lame or as timid as Obama’s budget proposals might be, the left is still livid over them.
It’s really terrible when you aren’t allowed to spend other people’s money!
Oink! As lame or as timid as Obama’s budget proposals might be, the left is still livid over them.
It’s really terrible when you aren’t allowed to spend other people’s money!
Senate Democrats reject amendment that would prevent TSA workers from unionizing
A bipartisan abuse of freedom! Senate Democrats rejected an amendment today that would have prevented TSA workers from unionizing. Meanwhile, the Republicans in the House have extended the provisions of the Patriot Act that allow for the surveillance of ordinary citizens, without explanation.
A bipartisan abuse of freedom! Senate Democrats rejected an amendment today that would have prevented TSA workers from unionizing. Meanwhile, the Republicans in the House have extended the provisions of the Patriot Act that allow for the surveillance of ordinary citizens, without explanation.
Researchers discover a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the south Pacific
Researchers have discovered a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the south Pacific, suggesting these vents are more common than previously believed. Key quote:
Using an underwater camera system, the researchers saw slender mineral spires about 10 feet tall, with hot water gushing from their peaks, and white mats of bacteria coating their sides. The vents are at a depth of 1,706 feet in a newly discovered seafloor crater close to the South Sandwich Islands, a remote group of islands about 310 miles southeast of South Georgia.
Researchers have discovered a new set of deep-sea volcanic vents in the south Pacific, suggesting these vents are more common than previously believed. Key quote:
Using an underwater camera system, the researchers saw slender mineral spires about 10 feet tall, with hot water gushing from their peaks, and white mats of bacteria coating their sides. The vents are at a depth of 1,706 feet in a newly discovered seafloor crater close to the South Sandwich Islands, a remote group of islands about 310 miles southeast of South Georgia.
Pelosi says that GOP budget puts ‘women and children last’
The head squealer goes oink! Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said yesterday that the proposed GOP budget would put “women and children last.”
Meanwhile, her assistant squealer, Steny Hoyer, insisted that a government shutdown could only be the fault of the Republicans. According to Hoyer, the Democrats in the Senate are mere bystanders, having nothing to do with any of this at all.
What incompetent idiots.
The head squealer goes oink! Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said yesterday that the proposed GOP budget would put “women and children last.”
Meanwhile, her assistant squealer, Steny Hoyer, insisted that a government shutdown could only be the fault of the Republicans. According to Hoyer, the Democrats in the Senate are mere bystanders, having nothing to do with any of this at all.
What incompetent idiots.
Stardust’s images of Comet Tempel 1
The images from Stardust’s flyby of Comet Tempel 1 are now available. I think the image below is the best, as it shows many details of the presently inactive comet surface. Scientists will need a bit of time now to compare these features with those imaged during the flyby of Deep Impact back in 2005.
