china back in the game
Actually, they never ruled themselves out of attempting a manned lunar landing; apparently there was a mistranslation used for a Reuters article eleven days ago. Money shot:
"The Chinese people will definitely land on the moon, only not now, lunar program scientist Ouyang Ziyuan explained. After our nation completes the unmanned spacecraft lunar exploration mission, we will study development plans for manned lunar landings and choose an opportunity to implement manned lunar landing and exploration as well as cooperation with relevant countries in the joint construction of a lunar base."
Lunar base...yeehaw.
They called me mad at the academy, MAD I tell you...the villagers say that I am insane, but my monster will show them that I am really kind and benevolent.
Monday, May 31, 2004
dream season
dream season
In about three hours the Calgary Flames will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game four of the Stanley Cup finals. tick tick tick only a few hours until the crazy time begins.
Now, this is a city that knows how to party. We do it every year for ten days in July for the Stampede, and they did it before I came here, throwing a heckuva party for the 88 Olympics.
But this, this is altogether different. This city really identifies with this team, in a way that would be unthinkable only a couple of years ago.
A lot of things have come together this year to make this a successful season - which before this year would have simply meant making the playoffs. Coach Brian Sutter (who is from the same town I was born in, Viking Alberta) insist on hard work from his players, and shows them how to do it.
To be sure, Jarome Iginla has shown fantastic leadership this year, and the goaltending has been tremendous - not just Mikka Kiprusov, but also Roman Turek when he is needed. But a hot goalie and a superstar player in the mould of Gordie Howe or Mark Messier isn't enough to win the Stanley Cup - lots of teams with those kinds of qualifications don't get past the first round.
There is an element that has to be present on any championship team: it must be a total team effort. And that doesn't mean leaning on your goalie or star player to get it done for you, it means working that extra bit harder so that you don't let the guy beside you down - and knowing that he is doing the same thing.
But Calgary has been a hardworking bunch of hockey players for years now. They have had good coaches, they have had some fan support. But the party after winning the first round against Vancouver, that showed that something was different this year, for the fans as well. This is their team this year, too.
So what has changed? what is the key element that has been missing for so many years, both in terms of team production and fan support?
In short, an ugly green hardhat.
One of the acquisitions this year (can't remember who but I think we got him from St. Louis) brought with him a tradition of awarding a hardhat to the hardest-working player on any given game. The players looked around the Saddledome, but all they could find to fit the bill was an old battered green hardhat left over from some construction. The players started awarding the hat early in the season.
They might have been doing it for each other, to motivate each other to work harder, and that's fine as far as that goes. However, that hard hat struck a chord with the fans; that gesture of making the reward be a mundane item, a tool that symbolized hard work, spoke to construction workers and roughnecks and truckers, to the guys who lay the asphalt and the guys who herd the cattle. It was the Flames saying "we look up to you, to the guys who do the really hard work".
All of a sudden, the team didn't belong to the guys in the corporate luxury boxes, to the guys who got free tickets through their company and sat on their hands. Instead, we owned the team, us, the average blue collar grunts who make a city go. It was our team. And it still is. Right now, we're Canada's team.
Yeah baby. Go Flames Go.
In about three hours the Calgary Flames will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in game four of the Stanley Cup finals. tick tick tick only a few hours until the crazy time begins.
Now, this is a city that knows how to party. We do it every year for ten days in July for the Stampede, and they did it before I came here, throwing a heckuva party for the 88 Olympics.
But this, this is altogether different. This city really identifies with this team, in a way that would be unthinkable only a couple of years ago.
A lot of things have come together this year to make this a successful season - which before this year would have simply meant making the playoffs. Coach Brian Sutter (who is from the same town I was born in, Viking Alberta) insist on hard work from his players, and shows them how to do it.
To be sure, Jarome Iginla has shown fantastic leadership this year, and the goaltending has been tremendous - not just Mikka Kiprusov, but also Roman Turek when he is needed. But a hot goalie and a superstar player in the mould of Gordie Howe or Mark Messier isn't enough to win the Stanley Cup - lots of teams with those kinds of qualifications don't get past the first round.
There is an element that has to be present on any championship team: it must be a total team effort. And that doesn't mean leaning on your goalie or star player to get it done for you, it means working that extra bit harder so that you don't let the guy beside you down - and knowing that he is doing the same thing.
But Calgary has been a hardworking bunch of hockey players for years now. They have had good coaches, they have had some fan support. But the party after winning the first round against Vancouver, that showed that something was different this year, for the fans as well. This is their team this year, too.
So what has changed? what is the key element that has been missing for so many years, both in terms of team production and fan support?
In short, an ugly green hardhat.
One of the acquisitions this year (can't remember who but I think we got him from St. Louis) brought with him a tradition of awarding a hardhat to the hardest-working player on any given game. The players looked around the Saddledome, but all they could find to fit the bill was an old battered green hardhat left over from some construction. The players started awarding the hat early in the season.
They might have been doing it for each other, to motivate each other to work harder, and that's fine as far as that goes. However, that hard hat struck a chord with the fans; that gesture of making the reward be a mundane item, a tool that symbolized hard work, spoke to construction workers and roughnecks and truckers, to the guys who lay the asphalt and the guys who herd the cattle. It was the Flames saying "we look up to you, to the guys who do the really hard work".
All of a sudden, the team didn't belong to the guys in the corporate luxury boxes, to the guys who got free tickets through their company and sat on their hands. Instead, we owned the team, us, the average blue collar grunts who make a city go. It was our team. And it still is. Right now, we're Canada's team.
Yeah baby. Go Flames Go.
the nightmare of Sudan
the nightmare of Sudan
Tacitus is calling the cries of never again a farce, and worse; examples of genocide since 1945 abound, currently occuring in Sudan.
Just when I think I have seen the depths of human depravity, when I think "ok, that's the bottom of the barrel, people simply cannot be even more evil than that", along comes Darfur.
Tacitus is calling the cries of never again a farce, and worse; examples of genocide since 1945 abound, currently occuring in Sudan.
Just when I think I have seen the depths of human depravity, when I think "ok, that's the bottom of the barrel, people simply cannot be even more evil than that", along comes Darfur.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
inside the microscope
inside the microscope
New on the Blogroll is Don Martin's blog. He is the National affairs columnist at the Calgary Herald, and currently travelling on the campaign trail with Stephen Harper of the Conservative party. They say that an election campaign is like living under a microscope, so that makes Don our man inside the microscope.
New on the Blogroll is Don Martin's blog. He is the National affairs columnist at the Calgary Herald, and currently travelling on the campaign trail with Stephen Harper of the Conservative party. They say that an election campaign is like living under a microscope, so that makes Don our man inside the microscope.
gagged... but are we really?
gagged... but are we really?
Licia Corbella has a decent column up about the new gag law Elections Canada has foisted upon us, upheld by the Supreme Court. This law makes it illegal for anyone but political parties to spend more than $3000 on elections advertising in any one riding in the country, or $150000 for a national campaign.
In other words, if a private individual takes out a 1/2 page ad in the Sun (about $5000) denouncing a specific candidate, then he could go to jail.
The Supreme Court wants to erase one of our fundamental rights (free political speech) during a federal election campaign? Just to protect the jobs of the Liberal government that appointed them to the bench I suppose. Fine. They can have it their way.
Who needs to spend money on an election campaign anyhow? The fact may have escaped the Supremes, but newspapers, radio, and TV are not the only media out there anymore. Can Blogs save free speech in Canada? Well, there is one way to find out...
Licia Corbella has a decent column up about the new gag law Elections Canada has foisted upon us, upheld by the Supreme Court. This law makes it illegal for anyone but political parties to spend more than $3000 on elections advertising in any one riding in the country, or $150000 for a national campaign.
In other words, if a private individual takes out a 1/2 page ad in the Sun (about $5000) denouncing a specific candidate, then he could go to jail.
The Supreme Court wants to erase one of our fundamental rights (free political speech) during a federal election campaign? Just to protect the jobs of the Liberal government that appointed them to the bench I suppose. Fine. They can have it their way.
Who needs to spend money on an election campaign anyhow? The fact may have escaped the Supremes, but newspapers, radio, and TV are not the only media out there anymore. Can Blogs save free speech in Canada? Well, there is one way to find out...
I got yer dark matter right here
I got yer dark matter right here
European researchers have found that the number of supermassive black holes anchoring galaxies may have been underestimated by a factor of 2 and by as much as a factor of 5. Considering that these supermassive black holes may mass as much as a billion suns each, that's a lot of missing mass accounted for.
European researchers have found that the number of supermassive black holes anchoring galaxies may have been underestimated by a factor of 2 and by as much as a factor of 5. Considering that these supermassive black holes may mass as much as a billion suns each, that's a lot of missing mass accounted for.
Red Hot
Red Hot
Last night the Calgary Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 4 goes Monday night at 6pm MST.
I went down to 17th avenue to check out the Red Mile last night. It was a blast - but wow were there ever a lot of cops.
Last night the Calgary Flames beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Game 4 goes Monday night at 6pm MST.
I went down to 17th avenue to check out the Red Mile last night. It was a blast - but wow were there ever a lot of cops.
spelling
spelling
Back in the olden days, before I had Internet access, I used to be fastidious about my spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I felt that it just made life easier.
Of course, then I discovered email groups and chat. One is forced to decipher misspellings constantly.
Some misspellings are very common due to inversoin of letters as people type too fast. This occurs in particular with short words liek teh or adn. These occur wiht such frequency that they often go unnoticed until well after posting.
Then not too long ago a study came out of egnland showing that entire sentneces could be comptelely misslpeled, yet peploe wulod slitl udnrestnad idemmtileay as lnog as teh frsit adn lsat letrtes of each wrod were in teh smae retalvie lcoatoins.
So, now I am considering abandoning my commitment to correct spelling. Can grammar and punctuation be far behind? eh?
Back in the olden days, before I had Internet access, I used to be fastidious about my spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I felt that it just made life easier.
Of course, then I discovered email groups and chat. One is forced to decipher misspellings constantly.
Some misspellings are very common due to inversoin of letters as people type too fast. This occurs in particular with short words liek teh or adn. These occur wiht such frequency that they often go unnoticed until well after posting.
Then not too long ago a study came out of egnland showing that entire sentneces could be comptelely misslpeled, yet peploe wulod slitl udnrestnad idemmtileay as lnog as teh frsit adn lsat letrtes of each wrod were in teh smae retalvie lcoatoins.
So, now I am considering abandoning my commitment to correct spelling. Can grammar and punctuation be far behind? eh?
Saturday, May 29, 2004
aaaaaaagh!
aaaaaaagh!
I don't know how it happened... sometime in the last few hours half of my sidebar just ...disappeared. *poof* All my links are gone, all my archives. Just like that.
I'm hoping this is just a glitch at Blogger's servers; if so then it should sort itself out in a few hours. If it isn't worked out by then, well, then I have to assume that it was something that I cut out of the template that I shouldn't have, and I'll have to spend a bunch of time rebuilding my links... geez. Major pain in the ass factor.
I don't know how it happened... sometime in the last few hours half of my sidebar just ...disappeared. *poof* All my links are gone, all my archives. Just like that.
I'm hoping this is just a glitch at Blogger's servers; if so then it should sort itself out in a few hours. If it isn't worked out by then, well, then I have to assume that it was something that I cut out of the template that I shouldn't have, and I'll have to spend a bunch of time rebuilding my links... geez. Major pain in the ass factor.
robot origami
robot origami
The Japanese art of folding paper is much more difficult for a robot.
"Matthew Mason, a professor of computer science and robotics, thought building such a robot would be so daunting that he did not encourage Devin Balkcom's plans to do so in January 2003.
But today, Balkcom has a robot that can make paper planes and hats and is scheduled to earn his doctorate with the project in August."
... and Pandora's box just opens ever wider. :)
The Japanese art of folding paper is much more difficult for a robot.
"Matthew Mason, a professor of computer science and robotics, thought building such a robot would be so daunting that he did not encourage Devin Balkcom's plans to do so in January 2003.
But today, Balkcom has a robot that can make paper planes and hats and is scheduled to earn his doctorate with the project in August."
... and Pandora's box just opens ever wider. :)
first fossils, now liquid water on Mars
first fossils, now liquid water on Mars
Charles Shults has put together a very convincing Case For Martian Fossils; and a new page has been added recently, highlighting evidence that liquid water is present there today.
Charles will be on Coast to Coast with Art Bell on June 6.
Charles Shults has put together a very convincing Case For Martian Fossils; and a new page has been added recently, highlighting evidence that liquid water is present there today.
Charles will be on Coast to Coast with Art Bell on June 6.
Friday, May 28, 2004
God Help Us
God Help Us
It now looks like Russia will ratify the Kyoto protocol after all. This is terrible news for Canada. Jean Chretien foolishly vowed to pass Kyoto at some international junket, before it had even been debated in Parlaiment. And in his quest for the UN Secretary-General's job, he forced it through caucus and thus through Parlaiment. If Russia ratifies it, then Canadians are stuck with paying billions - perhaps tens of billions of dollars every year to some of the worst polluters on the planet, in the farcical "greenhouse gas credits" - this even though Canada has some of the most extensive forests in the world, natural carbon sinks.
Basically the way Kyoto works is: poor countries are exempt and can pollute to their heart's content; industrialized countries pay developing nations in exchange for some kind of "credit" - which does nothing whatever for the environment.
Canada simply cannot comply with Kyoto. We live in a country that has winter for more than half the year, where distances to neighbouring cities are measured in the hundreds of kilometers (Calgary and Edmonton are neighbours, three hours apart by highway). Even if every Canadian stopped driving - all personal vehicles, delivery vans, 18 wheelers, everything - we would still fall short of our Kyoto targets due to power usage in the winter and the immense distances that freight trains and airplanes have to travel in this country.
So in order to meet Kyoto, everyone would have to stop driving, a few of us would have to starve, and a few would have to freeze to death. Perhaps only a few thousand people every year would have to die for the sake of making Kyoto.
So Canada, which has huge forests for sucking up CO2 and plants more trees than anyone, will fall short of the artificial Kyoto target and have to make that up, in greenhouse gas credits. These are only available from certain countries, among them some of the worst polluters (like Russia for instance). These credits have no intrinsic value, they are merely a reason to extort money from wealthy countries.
If any other Canadians are reading this (hi mom :D ) I want you to consider the Liberals' support of and the Conservatives' opposition to the Kyoto accord. We do have an election coming up this summer.
It now looks like Russia will ratify the Kyoto protocol after all. This is terrible news for Canada. Jean Chretien foolishly vowed to pass Kyoto at some international junket, before it had even been debated in Parlaiment. And in his quest for the UN Secretary-General's job, he forced it through caucus and thus through Parlaiment. If Russia ratifies it, then Canadians are stuck with paying billions - perhaps tens of billions of dollars every year to some of the worst polluters on the planet, in the farcical "greenhouse gas credits" - this even though Canada has some of the most extensive forests in the world, natural carbon sinks.
Basically the way Kyoto works is: poor countries are exempt and can pollute to their heart's content; industrialized countries pay developing nations in exchange for some kind of "credit" - which does nothing whatever for the environment.
Canada simply cannot comply with Kyoto. We live in a country that has winter for more than half the year, where distances to neighbouring cities are measured in the hundreds of kilometers (Calgary and Edmonton are neighbours, three hours apart by highway). Even if every Canadian stopped driving - all personal vehicles, delivery vans, 18 wheelers, everything - we would still fall short of our Kyoto targets due to power usage in the winter and the immense distances that freight trains and airplanes have to travel in this country.
So in order to meet Kyoto, everyone would have to stop driving, a few of us would have to starve, and a few would have to freeze to death. Perhaps only a few thousand people every year would have to die for the sake of making Kyoto.
So Canada, which has huge forests for sucking up CO2 and plants more trees than anyone, will fall short of the artificial Kyoto target and have to make that up, in greenhouse gas credits. These are only available from certain countries, among them some of the worst polluters (like Russia for instance). These credits have no intrinsic value, they are merely a reason to extort money from wealthy countries.
If any other Canadians are reading this (hi mom :D ) I want you to consider the Liberals' support of and the Conservatives' opposition to the Kyoto accord. We do have an election coming up this summer.
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Cry for Cannes
Cry for Cannes
The BBC reports that Michael Moore's latest film 'won Cannes on merit'.
"But Kill Bill director Tarantino insisted Moore's overt political themes did not influence his jury's choice.
'I knew all this politics crap would be brought up,' he said. 'We all agreed that Fahrenheit 9/11 was the best movie of the competition.' "
That's it? One of Moore's video editorials is the best there is among documentaries? The Cannes Film Festival used to have quality documentaries, and if one of Moore's editorials (which are so obviously biased) even makes it into the category (must be one heckuva loophole) and then beats all other contenders...there must have been some terrible, terrible documentaries this year.
Either that, or the Cannes jury decided to slap President Bush in the face, much like the Nobel comittee did when they awarded the Peace prize to Jimmy Carter (and admitted as to why).
This is something I just don't get - this group on the left who actually hate George W. Bush. Bush wasn't the one who killed three thousand Americans. And it wasn't even him who set the conditions necessary for that to happen - particularly the perceived weakness of the United States exemplified by Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Let's be clear about this: every accusation the Left has made against President Bush, ever since his election, has been completely false, made from whole cloth. Lies.
And Al Franken may wonder as to why Air America is tanking.
The BBC reports that Michael Moore's latest film 'won Cannes on merit'.
"But Kill Bill director Tarantino insisted Moore's overt political themes did not influence his jury's choice.
'I knew all this politics crap would be brought up,' he said. 'We all agreed that Fahrenheit 9/11 was the best movie of the competition.' "
That's it? One of Moore's video editorials is the best there is among documentaries? The Cannes Film Festival used to have quality documentaries, and if one of Moore's editorials (which are so obviously biased) even makes it into the category (must be one heckuva loophole) and then beats all other contenders...there must have been some terrible, terrible documentaries this year.
Either that, or the Cannes jury decided to slap President Bush in the face, much like the Nobel comittee did when they awarded the Peace prize to Jimmy Carter (and admitted as to why).
This is something I just don't get - this group on the left who actually hate George W. Bush. Bush wasn't the one who killed three thousand Americans. And it wasn't even him who set the conditions necessary for that to happen - particularly the perceived weakness of the United States exemplified by Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
Let's be clear about this: every accusation the Left has made against President Bush, ever since his election, has been completely false, made from whole cloth. Lies.
And Al Franken may wonder as to why Air America is tanking.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Look at 'em go
Look at 'em go
The Calgary Flames have really picked the right time to peak - right now. They are playing amazing hockey - not supertalented hockey like the early 80's Oilers, but tough, hard checking, grinding, hard-working hockey. They have skilled players to be sure, and Jarome Iginla in particular has shone throughout the playoffs. And having a hot goaltender is pretty much a given at this level of the playoffs - right now, Mikka Kiprusoff is the only player with a real shot at taking the Conn Smythe trophy from Iginla, if they win three more games.
And the city has caught on fire. We haven't even been in the playoffs for eight years, and the last time the Flames won a series was in '89. Thousands of fans went to see the game on Monday, on the Jumbotron in the Saddledome. Each of the series wins has led to a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere on 17th avenue, with drunken party girls flashing their breasts for anyone with a digital camera and internet access.
There are more ... wholesome manifestations of the Flames effect on this city. Everywhere you look, there are cars with one square foot C flags attached to the windows. Business people downtown in Bow Valley Square wear Flames jerseys (with ties and dress shirts visible underneath). On game days, everybody is wearing red.
This late in the playoffs, the Red Mile on 17th avenue fills up after every Flames win. Imagine thousands of people, all wearing red, milling about and high-fiving each other, partying in the streets. That has happened several times already these playoffs; surpisingly, there have been only a handful of arrests. If the Flames should win the cup, then tens of thousands of people will be milling about on one street - there were thirty thousand after the Detroit win.
A win in four straight (highly unlikely) or in six games (much more likely) would be a win in Calgary itself; expect fifty to a hundred thousand people on the Red Mile. I've been in Edmonton for the street parties for four Stanley Cup wins, and I am really looking forward to a win here.
The Calgary Flames have really picked the right time to peak - right now. They are playing amazing hockey - not supertalented hockey like the early 80's Oilers, but tough, hard checking, grinding, hard-working hockey. They have skilled players to be sure, and Jarome Iginla in particular has shone throughout the playoffs. And having a hot goaltender is pretty much a given at this level of the playoffs - right now, Mikka Kiprusoff is the only player with a real shot at taking the Conn Smythe trophy from Iginla, if they win three more games.
And the city has caught on fire. We haven't even been in the playoffs for eight years, and the last time the Flames won a series was in '89. Thousands of fans went to see the game on Monday, on the Jumbotron in the Saddledome. Each of the series wins has led to a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere on 17th avenue, with drunken party girls flashing their breasts for anyone with a digital camera and internet access.
There are more ... wholesome manifestations of the Flames effect on this city. Everywhere you look, there are cars with one square foot C flags attached to the windows. Business people downtown in Bow Valley Square wear Flames jerseys (with ties and dress shirts visible underneath). On game days, everybody is wearing red.
This late in the playoffs, the Red Mile on 17th avenue fills up after every Flames win. Imagine thousands of people, all wearing red, milling about and high-fiving each other, partying in the streets. That has happened several times already these playoffs; surpisingly, there have been only a handful of arrests. If the Flames should win the cup, then tens of thousands of people will be milling about on one street - there were thirty thousand after the Detroit win.
A win in four straight (highly unlikely) or in six games (much more likely) would be a win in Calgary itself; expect fifty to a hundred thousand people on the Red Mile. I've been in Edmonton for the street parties for four Stanley Cup wins, and I am really looking forward to a win here.
blog format update 3
blog format update 3
Further along the lines of this post I have made some more changes to the blog, adding another three cartoons at the bottom and a news headline box at left.
Yep, I think I just about have this thing set up the way I want it.
update:
Yoink
And just as quickly as I added it, I now have to remove the news headline thingy. It looked so cool, and it fit... it was only after I updated the blog that I really read it. Five headlines, all anti-Bush. What're the odds? Astronomical.
Oh well, I'll keep on looking.
update update
Ok, that's much better.
Time to unleash myself on the rest of the blogosphere. Muahahahaha.
Further along the lines of this post I have made some more changes to the blog, adding another three cartoons at the bottom and a news headline box at left.
Yep, I think I just about have this thing set up the way I want it.
update:
Yoink
And just as quickly as I added it, I now have to remove the news headline thingy. It looked so cool, and it fit... it was only after I updated the blog that I really read it. Five headlines, all anti-Bush. What're the odds? Astronomical.
Oh well, I'll keep on looking.
update update
Ok, that's much better.
Time to unleash myself on the rest of the blogosphere. Muahahahaha.
How's this for a weapon of mass destruction?
How's this for a weapon of mass destruction?
The Associated Press reports that a roadside bomb discovered this month in Baghdad indeed contained sarin. It was apparently an adapted bomb, simply an artillery shell (it would need to be spun very fast ie fired for the two precursor chemicals to mix completely), so the amount of sarin released was very low. But it is thought that this weapon was part of a much larger stockpile. This particular shell may have predated the Gulf war, and may have been manufactured as far back as 1988.
With the discovery of mustard gas in another shell found earlier this month, it is obvious that there were large numbers of chemical weapons in Iraq - you don't just find that sort of thing in downtown Paris or Munich, and here we have two chemical weapons found in the last month in Baghdad.
I'd say that these two discoveries by themselves prove President Bush correct prior to the commencement of the war: that Iraq did possess the ability and was pursuing the creation of weapons of mass destruction.
The terrorist connections to Iraq are obvious as well - Nick Berg's kidnapping and beheading was a graphic example of that.
So to all those who have been spouting "Bush lied, people died" - just because something rhymes doesn't mean it's true. Not only did Bush (and his staff and the American intelligence-gathering community) not lie, they actually got it right. And instead of doing nothing , or pulling back at the first stubbed toe, Bush has remained steadfast.
John Kerry changes positions on issues more often than he changes his underwear. George W. Bush sticks to his guns. It's a pretty clear choice this November.
The Associated Press reports that a roadside bomb discovered this month in Baghdad indeed contained sarin. It was apparently an adapted bomb, simply an artillery shell (it would need to be spun very fast ie fired for the two precursor chemicals to mix completely), so the amount of sarin released was very low. But it is thought that this weapon was part of a much larger stockpile. This particular shell may have predated the Gulf war, and may have been manufactured as far back as 1988.
With the discovery of mustard gas in another shell found earlier this month, it is obvious that there were large numbers of chemical weapons in Iraq - you don't just find that sort of thing in downtown Paris or Munich, and here we have two chemical weapons found in the last month in Baghdad.
I'd say that these two discoveries by themselves prove President Bush correct prior to the commencement of the war: that Iraq did possess the ability and was pursuing the creation of weapons of mass destruction.
The terrorist connections to Iraq are obvious as well - Nick Berg's kidnapping and beheading was a graphic example of that.
So to all those who have been spouting "Bush lied, people died" - just because something rhymes doesn't mean it's true. Not only did Bush (and his staff and the American intelligence-gathering community) not lie, they actually got it right. And instead of doing nothing , or pulling back at the first stubbed toe, Bush has remained steadfast.
John Kerry changes positions on issues more often than he changes his underwear. George W. Bush sticks to his guns. It's a pretty clear choice this November.
Monday, May 24, 2004
We need a new verse...
We need a new verse...
for the Monty Python song that describes the size of the universe from the movie "The Meaning of Life". They've just produced the best measure yet of the size of the universe, and
we're 156 Billion light-years wide. That's about 1.5 x 10^27 meters or 10^16 astronomical units. That's pretty damn big.
It is larger than the estimated age of the universe (13.7 billion years) because of the expansion period in the early universe. But at least now we have an upper bound on the number of orders of magnitude there are in the spatial dimensions: from the upper bound listed above to the lower bound of the Planck scale is about 60 orders of magnitude; three quarters of those orders of magnitudes are below the human (1 meter) scale.
for the Monty Python song that describes the size of the universe from the movie "The Meaning of Life". They've just produced the best measure yet of the size of the universe, and
we're 156 Billion light-years wide. That's about 1.5 x 10^27 meters or 10^16 astronomical units. That's pretty damn big.
It is larger than the estimated age of the universe (13.7 billion years) because of the expansion period in the early universe. But at least now we have an upper bound on the number of orders of magnitude there are in the spatial dimensions: from the upper bound listed above to the lower bound of the Planck scale is about 60 orders of magnitude; three quarters of those orders of magnitudes are below the human (1 meter) scale.
Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport
By July 7 of this year, the Mojave airport will have the answer from the FAA/AST as to whether they can operate as a spaceport. Another airport at Los Cruces New Mexico will become the Southwest Regional Spaceport, and tiny Kindersley Saskatchewan's airport is also becoming a spaceport.
Only a couple of years ago such a designation would laughable, it would be science fiction. Today it only makes the specialty news - I guess the major news media will catch on to the fact that there really is something going on in the space business when Scaled or one of the other teams makes their first suborbital flight.
By July 7 of this year, the Mojave airport will have the answer from the FAA/AST as to whether they can operate as a spaceport. Another airport at Los Cruces New Mexico will become the Southwest Regional Spaceport, and tiny Kindersley Saskatchewan's airport is also becoming a spaceport.
Only a couple of years ago such a designation would laughable, it would be science fiction. Today it only makes the specialty news - I guess the major news media will catch on to the fact that there really is something going on in the space business when Scaled or one of the other teams makes their first suborbital flight.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy exposed
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy exposed
Kate at small dead animals comes clean and exposes the VRWC, and "verifies" all of the Left's assertions about Bush and the Republicans. Funny stuff.
Kate at small dead animals comes clean and exposes the VRWC, and "verifies" all of the Left's assertions about Bush and the Republicans. Funny stuff.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Burnin'
Burnin'
Holy smokes, the Flames did it again, finished off another division champion. Yikes, six whole days before the next game starts, in the Stanley Cup finals.
I may go through hockey withdrawal.
Holy smokes, the Flames did it again, finished off another division champion. Yikes, six whole days before the next game starts, in the Stanley Cup finals.
I may go through hockey withdrawal.
Monday, May 17, 2004
The movies versus Reality
The movies versus Reality
Boviosity has a comment on the breathless hyping of the weather at Bizarre Weather Watch. This is prompted by the upcoming film The Day After Tomorrow, which will apparently show simultaneous global warming and an ice age.
It is inevitable it seems, that when some blockbuster disaster movie comes out in the summer, then reporters inevitably ask "could it really happen?". It happens every summer.
The massive tidal waves depicted in the trailer for Day after Tomorrow could possibly happen. An asteroid impact at sea (the earth's surface is 70% water so a 70% chance) could displace that volume of water and provide that amount of energy. We have started to track asteroids that orbit close to earth , and in the future may be able to deal with such a threat.
Another possible source would be the earth itself: a Krakatoa-style volcanic eruption would do it. Perhaps even more dangerous would be a super-tsunami caused by a landslide or earthquake.
There is in fact an island off the western coast of Africa which is slowly slitting into two halves ; it rests atop the conjunction of two continental plates, and as they pull apart the island goes in both directions. Eventually the western side of the island will simply fall into the ocean, triggering a 5 to 10 meter high wave that crosses the ocean in an expanding arc. When that island goes, it will send a tsunami directly into the US seaboard, one which would completely submerge New York City, by a wide margin. The wave will extend well inland, probably all the way to Indianapolis - and it is only a matter of time; could be tomorrow, could be 14000 years from now.
So, hug a puppy today.
Boviosity has a comment on the breathless hyping of the weather at Bizarre Weather Watch. This is prompted by the upcoming film The Day After Tomorrow, which will apparently show simultaneous global warming and an ice age.
It is inevitable it seems, that when some blockbuster disaster movie comes out in the summer, then reporters inevitably ask "could it really happen?". It happens every summer.
The massive tidal waves depicted in the trailer for Day after Tomorrow could possibly happen. An asteroid impact at sea (the earth's surface is 70% water so a 70% chance) could displace that volume of water and provide that amount of energy. We have started to track asteroids that orbit close to earth , and in the future may be able to deal with such a threat.
Another possible source would be the earth itself: a Krakatoa-style volcanic eruption would do it. Perhaps even more dangerous would be a super-tsunami caused by a landslide or earthquake.
There is in fact an island off the western coast of Africa which is slowly slitting into two halves ; it rests atop the conjunction of two continental plates, and as they pull apart the island goes in both directions. Eventually the western side of the island will simply fall into the ocean, triggering a 5 to 10 meter high wave that crosses the ocean in an expanding arc. When that island goes, it will send a tsunami directly into the US seaboard, one which would completely submerge New York City, by a wide margin. The wave will extend well inland, probably all the way to Indianapolis - and it is only a matter of time; could be tomorrow, could be 14000 years from now.
So, hug a puppy today.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Bush's next space speech
Bush's next space speech
Back on January 14th of this year, my sister had her 33rd birthday (hi Wendy :) ) - oh yeah, and President Bush made some space speech. Jeff Foust muses that there may be another one upcoming soon.
A July speech would make sense, with the Aldridge Commission's final report out in early June, NASA reorganization begun, and the election kicking into gear.
The more I think about it, the more I think it is time to cut all the field centers loose from NASA and force them all into the private sector. This is not to say that they should all lose their jobs: each field center would become a separate business. Offer an intial public offering of each in the stock market, allow people to buy into NASA field centers as part of their retirement funds.
It breaks up the monopoly on space traffic. NASA becomes just the administration, not the entire industry. Move the FAA office of space transportation over to the new NASA administrative offices. Move the EPA offices relevant to the space industry over to the new NASA administration. Move all other government agencies associated with space over to NASA, and privatize anything that is not. In the end, NASA itself wouldn't launch anything nor build or design any space hardware. Instead, the former field centers would do those sorts of things in competition and cooperation with the free market, as independent businesses.
All NASA would do is be a one-stop link between the space industry and the US government. All regulatory issues currently handled by numerous other agencies and NASA itself could be streamlined into one simplified process. Any government space contracts would be handled through this one agency.
The field centers would already be competitive in any space industry, given the existing infrastructure and talent base. They would probably need to hire a few more salesmen though.
They would be in line for the government contracts for things like robotic mapping of the moon, CEV construction, mission launches, any of the myriad of things that they do now. Only with the reorganization of NASA they would be in competition for those contracts with the types of companies that are currently in the running for the Ansari X-Prize: small startup companies are producing surprising amounts of quality hardware given their budgets. Given the many niches that would open up in the marketplace with the reorganization of NASA, the vast majority of these companies would be highly competitive.
The cost of the Bush vision will not be sustainably indefinitely, not by the government alone. And if government is the only player allowed, then the marketplace will never get a toehold.
Therefore, the marketplace must be an integral part of the new direction of NASA. By reforming NASA, the market will be involved from the beginning, and may even take over, exceeding what one would expect from NASA operating the way it does today. After a four year transition period, America would be set on a course for space that would be unstoppable, bringing to bear the full power of free people working in the free market.
Back on January 14th of this year, my sister had her 33rd birthday (hi Wendy :) ) - oh yeah, and President Bush made some space speech. Jeff Foust muses that there may be another one upcoming soon.
A July speech would make sense, with the Aldridge Commission's final report out in early June, NASA reorganization begun, and the election kicking into gear.
The more I think about it, the more I think it is time to cut all the field centers loose from NASA and force them all into the private sector. This is not to say that they should all lose their jobs: each field center would become a separate business. Offer an intial public offering of each in the stock market, allow people to buy into NASA field centers as part of their retirement funds.
It breaks up the monopoly on space traffic. NASA becomes just the administration, not the entire industry. Move the FAA office of space transportation over to the new NASA administrative offices. Move the EPA offices relevant to the space industry over to the new NASA administration. Move all other government agencies associated with space over to NASA, and privatize anything that is not. In the end, NASA itself wouldn't launch anything nor build or design any space hardware. Instead, the former field centers would do those sorts of things in competition and cooperation with the free market, as independent businesses.
All NASA would do is be a one-stop link between the space industry and the US government. All regulatory issues currently handled by numerous other agencies and NASA itself could be streamlined into one simplified process. Any government space contracts would be handled through this one agency.
The field centers would already be competitive in any space industry, given the existing infrastructure and talent base. They would probably need to hire a few more salesmen though.
They would be in line for the government contracts for things like robotic mapping of the moon, CEV construction, mission launches, any of the myriad of things that they do now. Only with the reorganization of NASA they would be in competition for those contracts with the types of companies that are currently in the running for the Ansari X-Prize: small startup companies are producing surprising amounts of quality hardware given their budgets. Given the many niches that would open up in the marketplace with the reorganization of NASA, the vast majority of these companies would be highly competitive.
The cost of the Bush vision will not be sustainably indefinitely, not by the government alone. And if government is the only player allowed, then the marketplace will never get a toehold.
Therefore, the marketplace must be an integral part of the new direction of NASA. By reforming NASA, the market will be involved from the beginning, and may even take over, exceeding what one would expect from NASA operating the way it does today. After a four year transition period, America would be set on a course for space that would be unstoppable, bringing to bear the full power of free people working in the free market.
Space gets nearer
Space gets nearer
I haven't commented much on the recent activity in the private spaceflight sector. The highlights of the space.com article are SpaceShip One's latest flight, XCOR's recent launch license, and Mojave Airport's growing status as a spaceport.
Meanwhile, Armadillo Aerospace has been continuously improving their engines, and the DaVinci Project and the Canadian Arrow will be doing test launches in a few months. A few other entries may yet prove to beat Scaled Composites to the Ansari X prize.
But the Ansari X Prize is not the market, it is merely an incentive. XCOR, for example, is not in the competition, but is taking the longer view, possibly towards orbital vehicles. SpaceX is following another route with their Falcon V model to be comparable in capability to current heavy lifting vehicles at a fraction of the cost.
It looks like the Ansari X Prize will be won this year, along with a $10 million US purse(if it isn't won by the end of the year the prize still exists but the purse does not). The key is what happens after the prize is won.
Those companies which have learned from the business failures of private space companies in the past will have a plan for beyond the prize, win or lose. The chief feature of the Ansari X prize is the amount of prestige associated with it; a more important benefit is the credibility among the investment community after the prize is won by somebody - anybody.
Mojave isn't the only place that would become a spaceport - any team that can accomplish an X prize victory can do the same thing on a regular basis. Many of them will after the prize is won, catering to the high-disposable-income-thrill-seeker market.
It is a toehold, a foot in the door for private industry in space flight. With Kindersley, Saskatchewan being named as the site of the da Vinci launch, and the current regulatory activity at the Isle of Man, the trend is that numerous sites around the world will become de facto spaceports.
Given the expected high number of launches and the various strategies employed by the different teams, meaningful baseline safety statistics will be accumulated over the next couple of years. The launch rate will be far higher than for the US or Russian or Chinese government test programs, if not quite as ambitious in energy. A lower failure rate should be a feature of the private sector effort, due to the strategy of incremental improvement.
If the Ansari X prize should be won this year, then I expect to see the orbital equivalent achieved before the end of 2006.
I haven't commented much on the recent activity in the private spaceflight sector. The highlights of the space.com article are SpaceShip One's latest flight, XCOR's recent launch license, and Mojave Airport's growing status as a spaceport.
Meanwhile, Armadillo Aerospace has been continuously improving their engines, and the DaVinci Project and the Canadian Arrow will be doing test launches in a few months. A few other entries may yet prove to beat Scaled Composites to the Ansari X prize.
But the Ansari X Prize is not the market, it is merely an incentive. XCOR, for example, is not in the competition, but is taking the longer view, possibly towards orbital vehicles. SpaceX is following another route with their Falcon V model to be comparable in capability to current heavy lifting vehicles at a fraction of the cost.
It looks like the Ansari X Prize will be won this year, along with a $10 million US purse(if it isn't won by the end of the year the prize still exists but the purse does not). The key is what happens after the prize is won.
Those companies which have learned from the business failures of private space companies in the past will have a plan for beyond the prize, win or lose. The chief feature of the Ansari X prize is the amount of prestige associated with it; a more important benefit is the credibility among the investment community after the prize is won by somebody - anybody.
Mojave isn't the only place that would become a spaceport - any team that can accomplish an X prize victory can do the same thing on a regular basis. Many of them will after the prize is won, catering to the high-disposable-income-thrill-seeker market.
It is a toehold, a foot in the door for private industry in space flight. With Kindersley, Saskatchewan being named as the site of the da Vinci launch, and the current regulatory activity at the Isle of Man, the trend is that numerous sites around the world will become de facto spaceports.
Given the expected high number of launches and the various strategies employed by the different teams, meaningful baseline safety statistics will be accumulated over the next couple of years. The launch rate will be far higher than for the US or Russian or Chinese government test programs, if not quite as ambitious in energy. A lower failure rate should be a feature of the private sector effort, due to the strategy of incremental improvement.
If the Ansari X prize should be won this year, then I expect to see the orbital equivalent achieved before the end of 2006.
Saturday, May 15, 2004
The View From Iraq
The View From Iraq
Mohammed of Iraq the Model has a hopeful perspective for Iraq despite the western (established) media:
"The negative media want our eyes to pause on the bad events to win time in this worldwide battle and to make us forget the good pictures that encourage us to keep the momentum. This includes most of the major western media.
They are ‘unconsciously’ supporting the terrorists and the totalitarian regimes in the region to stop this great progress. The media have managed to create some distrust and hate between some Iraqis and some of the coalition and the west in general. Well, not in my city, it seems to be immune to their poison.
The road is long and hard but together, we can do it."
Mohammed of Iraq the Model has a hopeful perspective for Iraq despite the western (established) media:
"The negative media want our eyes to pause on the bad events to win time in this worldwide battle and to make us forget the good pictures that encourage us to keep the momentum. This includes most of the major western media.
They are ‘unconsciously’ supporting the terrorists and the totalitarian regimes in the region to stop this great progress. The media have managed to create some distrust and hate between some Iraqis and some of the coalition and the west in general. Well, not in my city, it seems to be immune to their poison.
The road is long and hard but together, we can do it."
Cheerleader
Cheerleader
It looks like Tom Delay has stepped up as spokesman for President Bush's new vision for NASA:
"Stand with confidence on the shoulders of the giants who came before you and make your voices heard over the din with a simple message of courage and clarity:
Return to flight! Complete the station! Back to the moon! And on to Mars!"
It looks like Tom Delay has stepped up as spokesman for President Bush's new vision for NASA:
"Stand with confidence on the shoulders of the giants who came before you and make your voices heard over the din with a simple message of courage and clarity:
Return to flight! Complete the station! Back to the moon! And on to Mars!"
blog format update update
blog format update update
I have been tinkering with the template of this blog for a while now, and Blogger itself just underwent some changes. I think I have finally got it looking just about the way I want it. Also, features like the permalinks and comments are now active, making this blog a whole lot more functional.
Now I jsut nede too lern to spel.
I have been tinkering with the template of this blog for a while now, and Blogger itself just underwent some changes. I think I have finally got it looking just about the way I want it. Also, features like the permalinks and comments are now active, making this blog a whole lot more functional.
Now I jsut nede too lern to spel.
Archeological Triumph
Archeological Triumph
The site of the Library of Alexandria has been discovered by a Polish-Egyptian team. The site was destroyed by Julius Ceasar, and again by an earthquake and later fire in the 5th century AD. Estimates of the size of the site and the buildings found so far indicate that the Library was a university capable of serving five thousand students.
The site of the Library of Alexandria has been discovered by a Polish-Egyptian team. The site was destroyed by Julius Ceasar, and again by an earthquake and later fire in the 5th century AD. Estimates of the size of the site and the buildings found so far indicate that the Library was a university capable of serving five thousand students.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Perspective
Perspective
Real Clear Politics has an interesting comparasin of the relative importance placed on the Abu Ghraib prison photos and the Nick Berg beheading video by the leading left- and right-wing blogs, based upon the number of times about which the two subjects were written:
"As of early this morning, here is how they've covered the Berg story. Atrios devoted one post to the story (here). Daily Kos has devoted two posts (here and here). Josh Marshall devoted zero posts to the story, but he did post an email exchange with a reader yesterday explaining why he had skipped over the story (here).
Both Atrios and Marshall take the line that Berg's murder was an outrage and, well, there just isn't much more to say about it than that. (You certainly don't get that impression if you read the coverage at the three biggest conservative-leaning blogs Instapundit, Andrew Sullivan, and The Corner)."
Nor this blog.
Real Clear Politics has an interesting comparasin of the relative importance placed on the Abu Ghraib prison photos and the Nick Berg beheading video by the leading left- and right-wing blogs, based upon the number of times about which the two subjects were written:
"As of early this morning, here is how they've covered the Berg story. Atrios devoted one post to the story (here). Daily Kos has devoted two posts (here and here). Josh Marshall devoted zero posts to the story, but he did post an email exchange with a reader yesterday explaining why he had skipped over the story (here).
Both Atrios and Marshall take the line that Berg's murder was an outrage and, well, there just isn't much more to say about it than that. (You certainly don't get that impression if you read the coverage at the three biggest conservative-leaning blogs Instapundit, Andrew Sullivan, and The Corner)."
Nor this blog.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Nick Berg RIP
Nick Berg RIP
I just watched the Nick Berg beheading video. If anything, it is even more gruesome than any description I have read.
DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH
They grabbed him by the hair, threw him to the ground, and started sawing on the back of his neck. He screamed for about three seconds, until the perp moved the knife around the front and severed Berg's windpipe and jugular veins. You can see the pool of blood when they sever his jugular. The remainder of the beheading took about 20 seconds.
This is the face of Islam, the "religion of peace". This is what should be shown on Ted Koppel. And CNN. And NBC.
At a time when newspapers are still running with the Abu Ghraib photos, "Nick Berg" has become the number one search term on search engines worldwide - according to Lycos, the top ten search terms included the words "Nick Berg": twelve times as many searches as the next-most-searched name, Paris Hilton.
Americans were outraged to see what was being done in their name in Abu Ghraib. Where is the outrage from Muslims about the treatment of Nick Berg? So far only Hezbollah (irony of ironies) has condemned this... and they condemned not the action but the fact that their brethren are bringing about negative PR.
The beheading of Berg was supposedly in retaliation for Abu Ghraib. Fine. The solution is simple: don't take any more prisoners. Bullets are cheap.
Of course, the USA has more honour than that; they will continue to take prisoners, and have actual legal proceedings.
I just watched the Nick Berg beheading video. If anything, it is even more gruesome than any description I have read.
DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH
They grabbed him by the hair, threw him to the ground, and started sawing on the back of his neck. He screamed for about three seconds, until the perp moved the knife around the front and severed Berg's windpipe and jugular veins. You can see the pool of blood when they sever his jugular. The remainder of the beheading took about 20 seconds.
This is the face of Islam, the "religion of peace". This is what should be shown on Ted Koppel. And CNN. And NBC.
At a time when newspapers are still running with the Abu Ghraib photos, "Nick Berg" has become the number one search term on search engines worldwide - according to Lycos, the top ten search terms included the words "Nick Berg": twelve times as many searches as the next-most-searched name, Paris Hilton.
Americans were outraged to see what was being done in their name in Abu Ghraib. Where is the outrage from Muslims about the treatment of Nick Berg? So far only Hezbollah (irony of ironies) has condemned this... and they condemned not the action but the fact that their brethren are bringing about negative PR.
The beheading of Berg was supposedly in retaliation for Abu Ghraib. Fine. The solution is simple: don't take any more prisoners. Bullets are cheap.
Of course, the USA has more honour than that; they will continue to take prisoners, and have actual legal proceedings.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Cowards
Cowards
Drudge has pictures that ought to be shown just as many times as that pic of Lynndie England with a prisoner on a leash was shown on CNN etc.
Note that the perps all are masked. Such brave brave men. Stuff like this makes me question: is this "Allah", who is so revered by Muslims, actually Satan? It would explain a great many things.
Drudge has pictures that ought to be shown just as many times as that pic of Lynndie England with a prisoner on a leash was shown on CNN etc.
Note that the perps all are masked. Such brave brave men. Stuff like this makes me question: is this "Allah", who is so revered by Muslims, actually Satan? It would explain a great many things.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Space Rush
Space Rush
Glenn Reynolds has a very worthwhile column up at Tech Central Station, discussing how to increase business investment in space industry through the recognition of property rights by the USA.
Glenn Reynolds has a very worthwhile column up at Tech Central Station, discussing how to increase business investment in space industry through the recognition of property rights by the USA.
polarization
polarization
David Broder writes about the polarization of the two main political parties in the USA in this Washington Post article.
Since the parties are polarizing, with Democrats pulling more to the left and Republicans pulling more to the right, perhaps the time is nearly ripe to form a third party, one which occupies the center of the political spectrum. The Liberals in Canada have been successful with that position for the better part of a century: steal the best ideas of the left and the right for your own platform, portray all opponents as "extreme", and go for that huge bloc of votes that occupies the political center. Call it the Moderate party.
dammit. Why do I think of stuff like this? I'm a Libertarian, fercryinoutloud.
David Broder writes about the polarization of the two main political parties in the USA in this Washington Post article.
Since the parties are polarizing, with Democrats pulling more to the left and Republicans pulling more to the right, perhaps the time is nearly ripe to form a third party, one which occupies the center of the political spectrum. The Liberals in Canada have been successful with that position for the better part of a century: steal the best ideas of the left and the right for your own platform, portray all opponents as "extreme", and go for that huge bloc of votes that occupies the political center. Call it the Moderate party.
dammit. Why do I think of stuff like this? I'm a Libertarian, fercryinoutloud.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Blog format update
Blog format update
I don't quite have my blog set up the way I want it yet, but I'm getting there. I'll be adding a comment and trackback feature soon, and probably changing the way that archives work. The overall look of the site won't change very much, but it will be a little more functional. I'll also be adding a few more links and buttons to the list on the left, and perhaps adding in some wire service feeds or news headlines below the Day by Day cartoon. This will all take place over the next couple of days.
I don't quite have my blog set up the way I want it yet, but I'm getting there. I'll be adding a comment and trackback feature soon, and probably changing the way that archives work. The overall look of the site won't change very much, but it will be a little more functional. I'll also be adding a few more links and buttons to the list on the left, and perhaps adding in some wire service feeds or news headlines below the Day by Day cartoon. This will all take place over the next couple of days.
NASA Chief agrees with me
NASA Chief agrees with me
As the final presenter to the Aldridge commission, Sean O'Keefe stressed:
"Business as usual, if we simply try to overlay this [vision] on top of an existing structure, isn't going to work. There is no way that the present organizational structure, and how we do business today, will be the most appropriate way to go about doing this."
In short, NASA will have to change its entire approach to space. Instead of defining the mission, designing everything, building everything, etc, or hiring single subcontractors to do these things, NASA must shift away from the Cold War instrument that brought Apollo to the moon.
NASA must focus instead on the last word in its name. It must become the instrument that helps industry clear the regulatory and legislative and licensing and insurance hurdles that cut so heavily into the profit margins of space commerce. It must administer America's ascent to the moon, mars, and beyond; not by building everything and doing it all themselves, but by setting objectives and paying for achievement of those objectives.
If NASA needs a 1 meter resolution map of the moon, then they should set a price (what they consider to be the value of such a map) and pay it to whomever can deliver - and not one dime before. If NASA needs a space station at L1, then they should set a price for that and pay whomever delivers to spec.
In short, NASA needs to downsize, by a large fraction, perhaps by more than half. The rocket scientists who are laid off will go on to form their own space companies - at least the good ones will. And it is those companies which will get a large share of the contracts or subcontracts or subsubcontracts for building and flying the hardware that would meet NASA specs.
A prize structure similar to the X-prize would work for this sort of thing. Say a hundred million dollar prize for the lunar 1m map; that is serious coin, and would attract plenty of attention; total investment by various companies would likely surpass the value of the prize itself; total investment by NASA would be less than if NASA just made the map themselves, probably by an order of magnitude; the space industry as a whole would benefit far more than if NASA just paid a big contractor like Boeing or LockMart to develop and launch something; and NASA's risks are transferred away from the agency and absorbed by the industry instead.
That's how you commercialize space, not subsidiary technologies like Tang or infant heart rate monitors. Government agencies cannot do it by themselves, by definition: they are government agencies, not businesses. They are part of government, so the best they can do is govern the activities of Americans in space. Continuing to view infinite space as NASA's personal fiefdom can never commercialize space or make space travel economical. It is only by directly involving industry and the market that NASA can promote the commercialization of space.
As the final presenter to the Aldridge commission, Sean O'Keefe stressed:
"Business as usual, if we simply try to overlay this [vision] on top of an existing structure, isn't going to work. There is no way that the present organizational structure, and how we do business today, will be the most appropriate way to go about doing this."
In short, NASA will have to change its entire approach to space. Instead of defining the mission, designing everything, building everything, etc, or hiring single subcontractors to do these things, NASA must shift away from the Cold War instrument that brought Apollo to the moon.
NASA must focus instead on the last word in its name. It must become the instrument that helps industry clear the regulatory and legislative and licensing and insurance hurdles that cut so heavily into the profit margins of space commerce. It must administer America's ascent to the moon, mars, and beyond; not by building everything and doing it all themselves, but by setting objectives and paying for achievement of those objectives.
If NASA needs a 1 meter resolution map of the moon, then they should set a price (what they consider to be the value of such a map) and pay it to whomever can deliver - and not one dime before. If NASA needs a space station at L1, then they should set a price for that and pay whomever delivers to spec.
In short, NASA needs to downsize, by a large fraction, perhaps by more than half. The rocket scientists who are laid off will go on to form their own space companies - at least the good ones will. And it is those companies which will get a large share of the contracts or subcontracts or subsubcontracts for building and flying the hardware that would meet NASA specs.
A prize structure similar to the X-prize would work for this sort of thing. Say a hundred million dollar prize for the lunar 1m map; that is serious coin, and would attract plenty of attention; total investment by various companies would likely surpass the value of the prize itself; total investment by NASA would be less than if NASA just made the map themselves, probably by an order of magnitude; the space industry as a whole would benefit far more than if NASA just paid a big contractor like Boeing or LockMart to develop and launch something; and NASA's risks are transferred away from the agency and absorbed by the industry instead.
That's how you commercialize space, not subsidiary technologies like Tang or infant heart rate monitors. Government agencies cannot do it by themselves, by definition: they are government agencies, not businesses. They are part of government, so the best they can do is govern the activities of Americans in space. Continuing to view infinite space as NASA's personal fiefdom can never commercialize space or make space travel economical. It is only by directly involving industry and the market that NASA can promote the commercialization of space.
Monday, May 03, 2004
Kerry campaign spiralling
Kerry campaign spiralling
It is a fairly good indicator of that when 19 of the 23 officers who served with you in the Navy write a letter declaring you to be unfit to be Commander-In-Chief:
"We have 19 of 23 officers who served with [Kerry]. We have every commanding officer he ever had in Vietnam. They all signed a letter that says he is unfit to be commander-in-chief."
Update: here's the letter.
It is a fairly good indicator of that when 19 of the 23 officers who served with you in the Navy write a letter declaring you to be unfit to be Commander-In-Chief:
"We have 19 of 23 officers who served with [Kerry]. We have every commanding officer he ever had in Vietnam. They all signed a letter that says he is unfit to be commander-in-chief."
Update: here's the letter.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
disgusting
disgusting
I think it is fairly safe to say that Brig. Gen. Janice Karpinski's career is over. Anyone found to have allowed this ought to spend a lengthy period turning big rocks into little rocks.
I think it is fairly safe to say that Brig. Gen. Janice Karpinski's career is over. Anyone found to have allowed this ought to spend a lengthy period turning big rocks into little rocks.
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Flames are on fire
Flames are on fire
Today with a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Calgary Flames have taken a 3-2 lead in the series. The pace of the games and the travel has started to wear on the Detroit players, and injuries to key players like Chris Chelios and Steve Yzerman don't help their cause (hopefully Stevie Y's eye is ok).
This city is going absolutely nuts over the Flames. With every victory, people are whipped up into a frenzy for several hours afterwards. If the Flames should knock Detroit out of the playoffs on Monday, Calgary will erupt. There was a huge spontaneous parade/party when the Flames beat Vancouver out of the playoffs, the sort of party that usually only occurs when a city wins a major sports championship like the Stanley Cup... and that was just for the first round, just for making it a quarter of the way through the playoffs.
Today with a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings, the Calgary Flames have taken a 3-2 lead in the series. The pace of the games and the travel has started to wear on the Detroit players, and injuries to key players like Chris Chelios and Steve Yzerman don't help their cause (hopefully Stevie Y's eye is ok).
This city is going absolutely nuts over the Flames. With every victory, people are whipped up into a frenzy for several hours afterwards. If the Flames should knock Detroit out of the playoffs on Monday, Calgary will erupt. There was a huge spontaneous parade/party when the Flames beat Vancouver out of the playoffs, the sort of party that usually only occurs when a city wins a major sports championship like the Stanley Cup... and that was just for the first round, just for making it a quarter of the way through the playoffs.
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