more problems for Hayabusa

more problems for Hayabusa

The Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft, which over the last couple of weeks became the first unmanned spacecraft to land and take off again from another celestial object (and which did so completely autonomously the first time), is having more problems. After successfully sampling the asteroid Itokawa (another first) it was to return to earth in mid-December.

However, there has been a problem with one of the position-control thrusters on Hayabusa. Because of this problem, the JAXA mission control is unable to aim Hayabusa's antenna to the earth, a necessary procedure to begin the return mission.

This is one of a string of problems which have plagued the mission, from the loss of the Minerva robot lander to a gyroscope glitch to the loss of signal during the first landing.

Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids

Flame On

Flame On

I am afraid I started (or added fuel to the fire of) a flame war in the comments on this post over at Waking Up On Planet X. My comments there might get me barred from commenting on Candace's site. However, I think that what I said needs to be said. In the interests of diverting a flame war from her comments section, I have copied the relevant exchange here. If there is to be a flame war over this, then let it occur here.

Balbulican: Oh, crap. Do you actually believe that? That there's something inherent in "left wingers" that makes us more "grossly unfair to those of us who don't happen to share their views?" That's it's not simply a question of perspective?

Seriously?

Candace: Yes, I seriously believe it. Look at the coverage of Brison's remarks, which were a DIRECT personal slur on the Leader of the CPoC, accusing him of illegal lobbying, hiding election funding (implying something scary & nasty & possibly illegal) - a couple of comments saying it was out of line and that's about it.

Compared to "organized crime" which, when you're talking about Gagliano & his reported connections alone is not necessarily off the mark. Cash in paper bags. Money laundering. wtf is that if NOT organized crime? It's just not attached to a "family" but to a political party. I think Craig Oliver is going to CRY if Harper doesn't apologize.

So yes, I DO believe that.

Balbulican: So, Candace...given that you believe that Stageleft, and Treehugger, and I...as "leftists"...are "grossly unfair to those of us who don't happen to share their views"...

How do you suppose we got to be that way?

Is it that we're all just stupider than you? Or somehow, congenitally more "unfair"? Do you think our gross "unfairness" is a moral flaw that we poor, inferior lefties share, or an intellectual one?

Ed: Yes Balb. If you are a leftist then you are either stupid or evil. Take your pick.

If you are stupid, then I can forgive you.

If you are not stupid however, then I cannot forgive you for: embracing the political philosophy that directly led to one hundred million violent deaths in the 20th century; seeking to punish the productive for the sake of rewarding the lazy; your willful ignorance of economics; and hence, your hatred of the human race.

Candace: Ed, that's pretty harsh. Just as those of us on the right don't appreciate getting lumped in with the raving right wingnuts that would see women back in the kitchen, barefoot & pregnant, leaving the "important" work to the men, it's inappropriate to lump everyone on the left side of the spectrum as unprincipled or incapable of intelligent thought.

Balb's comment was in response to MY response to a question he asked that I misread (which should be clear to anyone reading the whole thread).

Either I'm misreading your remarks as serious instead of sarcastic, or you need to edit them or apologize.

I'm trying to keep the conversations here at a level of civility Ed. If you want a flaming war, there are lots of sites for those.

Canadian politics didn't get to the sorry state that they are in from intelligent debate between those of differing opinions. Name calling and insults don't accomplish much, other than hurt feelings and emotional and intellectual walls.

I guess I'm stating the old adage - if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

So... You've got until 9:00 am MST to make a decision. Otherwise I'll delete your comment and give serious consideration to banning you from further comments.

Balbulican: Wow, Ed. That sure is laying it on the line. But thanks for the diagnosis.

Now the only thing I have to figure out is the stupid/evil ratio. I can't be PURELY stupid (I can form coherent sentences), but I can't be PURELY evil either (lots of volunteer work, adoption of kids and whatnot)...so it must be a mix. Any hints on how I can figure out how much of me is which?

Just for clarification...would that diagnosis...stupid or evil...apply to EVERYONE who supported, let's say, the Liberals or the NDP?

Ed: You're right Candace, that was harsh. And yes, the either/or proposition is inaccurate.

Balbulican, I offer you two further options besides stupid and evil: misinformed or gullible. And yes, those who promote any leftist economic philosophy fall into one of those four categories or a combination thereof.

Candace, it's your sandbox, and you make the rules here. It may have been out of line for me to answer Balb's question to you, and my position definitely came across as harsh. I pounced upon Balbulican's reference to a "moral flaw" and extended it well beyond the parameters of the previous discussion.

However, I am tired of seeing the leftist economic position defended as something noble. It is not. The notion of "from each according to ability to each according to his need" is an endorsement of slavery.

I can understand the desire to compromise, to arrive at a consensus without hurt feelings. Compromise is not always possible or healthy though. When there is a choice between food and poison, is it wise to compromise?

It is long past time that the leftist economic philosophy was held up to the light and examined for what it really is: the poison that is slowly killing Canada. It is killing Canada in the form of transfer payments from the economically productive regions of the country to those regions that refuse to be productive. It is killing Canada in the form of socialized medicine, which inflates bureaucracy at the expense of patient diagnosis and treatment. It is killing Canada in the form of the Kyoto protocol, which is a thinly-disguised gutting of capitalist economies to prop up socialist economies. It is killing Canada politically as "pull" replaces merit, and as graft and corruption inevitably follow.

If that gets me barred from commenting on your blog, then so be it, and to my regret. I have no desire to lower the level of discourse on your blog, and I apologize for having done so. I understand your desire to avoid a flame war, but on some issues I simply cannot remain silent. Therefore, I am copying this exchange to my own blog. If a flame war is the result of my comments, then that flame war can occur on my blog instead of yours.

OK, so there you have it. Am I being unfair to those on the left side of the economic spectrum? Or am I telling it like it is?

Technorati Tags: Politics, Socialism

sudoku (051129)

sudoku (051129)

It's time once again for a nice, easy, Tuesday sudoku.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out (or copy it onto some graph paper) and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold); or, if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, post your solution in the comments. The person who first posts the correct solution receives a prize: a job going door-to-door campaigning on behalf of the Liberal Party. In Calgary.

Update: The solution is here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

Christmas campaign

Christmas campaign

So, the government of Canada has fallen. I don't recall the last time a Canadian government has fallen on a pure non-confidence motion (as opposed to on a budget bill, such as the short-lived Clark government in 79-80); I strongly suspect that one would have to look back a hundred years or more.

So, I will now take the opportunity to advise the people of vote-rich Ontario: vote Liberal. Yes, you read that correctly. I want the people of Ontario in particular to vote for the Liberal party, in massive numbers. Reward the corrupt Liberal party with a huge majority. Make it clear to Alberta that honesty is not valued; that it is in fact discouraged. Show Alberta that you prefer to have organized crime in charge of the nation's treasury. Show Alberta that you really don't want to have Alberta remain a part of Canada.

I will thank you for voting Liberal in this election after Alberta votes to separate.

Oh sure, Ontario, you could forestall Alberta's eventual independence by voting for the Conservatives. But really, that's only a stopgap measure. The corruption is rooted too deep in Canada, and eventually the country will collapse anyhow. At least vote Liberal now, and accelerate the process, so that we might get out with our wallets reasonably intact.

Update: If commenter PGS is correct, then this is the only time that a Canadian government has ever fallen on a straight motion of non-confidence; all other governments which have fallen have done so on monetary bills or censure motions which could be interpreted as non-confidence. It's one for the history books, and sure to become Paul Martin's legacy for the ages.

Technorati Tags: Politics, Canada

instacrash!

instacrash!

My, how the mighty have fallen. You won't see this every day (click on the picture below for a full-screen version):


I clued into this when I saw that my Truth Laid Bear ranking had dropped from Large Mammal down to Multicellular Microorganism. Don't panic! NZ Bear is just doing some ecosystem-wide maintenance. This is however the first time that I have seen Instapundit drop out of the Higher Beings category - all the way down to Marauding Marsupial. TTLB giveth, and TTLB taketh away.

Technorati Tags: Humor, Blog

from OSM back to Pajamas

from OSM back to Pajamas

With the revelation that there was already an Open Source Media, Pajamas Media decided to change their name back. To reflect that Change, I have decided to update the logo in my sidebar. If anyone else wants to display the Pajamas Media logo, here is the necessary code:

<a href="http://www.osm.org/"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/260/171/1600/pajamalogo.gif" alt="Pajamas Media"></a><br><br>

Technorati Tags: Media, Blog

get ready, get set...

get ready, get set...

Out of the Cradle is liveblogging the imminent SpaceX Falcon launch.

Update: High winds and problems with the LOX refueling tanks have forced the scrubbing of today's launch, which has been rescheduled for tomorrow.

Update 2: It turns out that an auxiliary liquid oxygen fill tank manual vent valve was incorrectly set to vent, causing the rocket to lose too much liquid oxygen. The launch has been pushed back to mid-December while more liquid oxygen is shipped from Hawaii to Omelek Island.

Technorati Tags: Space

monster sudoku (051126)

monster sudoku (051126)

It's Saturday, so that means it is time once again to unleash the monster sudoku. I do this every Saturday, with regular sudokus on Tuesday and Thursday. Since the last several monster sudokus were so difficult, I've decided to do something just a little bit different for today's version.

The rules of Monster Sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 16 by 16 grid, which is further divided up into sixteen 4 by 4 blocks. In each row, column, and 4x4 block, the letters A through P each get written exactly once. There is only one solution. If the letters are a little too small for you, click on the image to bring up a large version. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

As I mentioned above, there is something different for this week's monster sudoku. The following words are listed in the correct solution to the puzzle:

AGED, APPLE, BAKE, BALD, BAND, CHAP, CHIME, FALL, FINE, FOLD, GLIB, GOAL, GOLD, HANG, IGNOBLE, KIND, LIKE, MAKE, MOAN, PILE, PLEAD, POKE

The words might be written across, down, or diagonally; some are written backwards.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out (or copy it out on graph paper) and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold). If you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, post your solution in the comments. The first person who posts the correct solution wins a prize: a permalink on my blogroll and a graphic declaring him or her to be the Monster Sudoku Champion, which can be displayed on their own blog. I will post the solution in two or three days.

Update: The solution is available here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

robots on the battlefield

robots on the battlefield

The Pentagon is going to be spending big bucks - 120 billion US dollars - to build heavily-armed robots for the battlefield:

Much of the cash will be spent computerising the military, but the ultimate aim is to take members of the armed forces out of harm's way. They would be replaced by robots capable of hunting and killing America's enemies.

Gordon Johnson, of the US joint forces research centre, told the New York Times: "The American military will have these kinds of robots. It's not a question of 'if', it's a question of 'when'."

Technorati Tags: Warfare, Robots, Artificial Intelligence

success!

success!

The Hayabusa probe successfully landed on asteroid Itokawa and collected a sample. It has also lifted off in preparation for transmission of data back to mission control. The Hayabusa probe became the first unmanned spacecraft to take off from an extraterrestrial body a few days ago, a process that it has now completed twice. The probe will now make its way back to earth for a landing in June 2007 in the Australian outback and retrieval of the sample (another first). Congratulations to JAXA.

Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids

no Falcon launch yet

no Falcon launch yet

SpaceX was forced by the Army Space and Missile Defence Command to delay the maiden launch of the Falcon rocket until tomorrow at 1PM Pacific time.

I seem to recall another scrubbed SpaceX launch due to military concerns as well. The conclusion? SpaceX cannot rely on the military launchpads. No company can operate if it must do so at the whim of the military. They are going to have to have their own launchpad if they want to have a viable space launch business.

Technorati Tags: Space

a coup for Orbital

a coup for Orbital

NASA has awarded a $27 million contract to Orbital Sciences Corporation to build the 385-pound Space Technology 8 satellite under the New Millenium Program. Orbital will also supply (under a separate contract) the Pegasus launch vehicle that will loft the satellite to orbit sometime in 2009.

Technorati Tags: Space, NASA

great news for JAXA

great news for JAXA

During the three-hour loss of communication between the Hayabusa probe and mission control in Japan, the probe successfully landed on Itokawa. Although Hayabusa did not retrieve a sample on that attempt, I view this as a very positive sign.

Had the probe not landed on the asteroid, then this Friday's attempt would have a lower probability of success. As it was, the probe not only safely landed and took off again 30 minutes later (the first time any spacecraft has done this on an asteroid), it also did so completely on its own, without any human oversight. This speaks volumes about the programming done by the Japanese.

So, even if something goes wrong again on Friday and ground operators lose contact with the spacecraft again, it has a good chance of successfully completing its mission.

Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids

sudoku (051124)

sudoku (051124)

Here's the medium-hard version of sudoku for this week. Happy Thanksgiving, America.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, post your solution in the comments. The person who first posts the correct solution receives a prize: an extra serving of turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and gravy and corn on the cob and green beans and pumpkin pie and diet Coke.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

vision for space exploration in financial trouble

vision for space exploration in financial trouble

Wshington Post reporter Guy Gugliotta reports that there is a projected 6 billion dollar deficit in the plan to finish the space station and retire space shuttle program. This means that there are several unpleasant (for NASA) options available. First, NASA could cut back on the number of shuttle flights remaining from about 19 to about 10, leaving several space station modules unlaunched. Second, NASA could push back the retirement of the shuttles and development of the CEV by several years, moving Mike Griffin's projection of an operational CEV in 2012 to perhaps 2014 or even later, which would further push back the proposed moon landing, maybe beyond the 2020 deadline set by president Bush. Third, Congress could fund both the shuttle and CEV programs, adding an extra 6 billion dollars to NASA's budget spread over the next several years.

The last possibility is to simply kill the shuttle program now and put that money into CEV development. This would leave the space station incomplete and create a nightmare for foreign policy due to international obligations.

Of these possibilities, I think the absolute worst would be the third one listed above, followed by the second one, then the fourth one. The first option posted above would be the best option, and it is one that I have proposed before.

But then, NASA doesn't take advice from this blogger, so we will probably end up with the worst option possible: full funding for 19 more shuttle flights plus a CEV delivered in 2012. The next fatal shuttle accident is a matter of when, not if. Should there be only 10 or fewer flights remaining, then NASA might (cross your fingers) make it to the retirement of the fleet without another loss of crew and vehicle. The more launches there are with these ancient derelicts though, the greater the chance of another disaster. If that happens, at the very least NASA faces another delay similar to the one it had after the Columbia was destroyed. That would put the remaining shuttle flights, the CEV, the vision for space exploration - maybe even NASA itself - at risk of being cancelled.

Technorati Tags: NASA

yay for comics

yay for comics

Regular readers of this blog will know that I love cartoons. That's why I have so many on the blog. Well, I just added another one: Ipso Facto now graces the cartoons at the bottom of the page.

(hat tip to Lone Pony)

Technorati Tags: Humor, Blog

SpaceDev has a busy week

SpaceDev has a busy week

On the heels of recent announcements of the DreamChaser and the award of a hybrid rocket motor contrct for the Air Force ,SpaceDev has also announced the results of a three-year study for Lunar Enterprise Corporation. The major result of the study is that it is possible to put more people on the moon, for one-tenth of what NASA is going to spend for its return to the moon, and to do it in a fraction of the time spent by NASA.

Mark Whittington is skeptical of SpaceDev's study, but not for the (admittedly sparse) details in the news release; he points instead to the legal language at the bottom of the article about "forward-looking statements that involve risks" and so forth. One thing that Mark didn't take into account is that this identical legal notice appears at the bottom of all of SpaceDev's news releases. There may be reason to doubt SpaceDev's study results, but the legal notice is not one of them. Doubts should be based on the specifics of the study, of which there are few in the press release.

And SpaceDev isn't done with the news releases: they announced today that they have signed a contract with SpaceX for launch services on a Falcon 1 launch vehicle, tentatively scheduled for May of 2008. To me, this illustrates the power of the free market in the space industry, as contrasted with the way NASA does business. Under the NASA paradigm, the launch vehicle, launch facilities, satellite development and so on are all done out of one big budget. In private industry, each company has a small budget, but they are all buying off each other, and the money circulates around a network; the multiplier effect in action. The net result is lower costs all around.

Technorati Tags: Space

yay, another quiz

yay, another quiz

Found via Space Pragmatism:

I am: Arthur C. Clarke Well known for nonfiction science writing and for early promotion of the effort toward space travel, his fiction was often grand and visionary.

Which science fiction writer are you?

the robots are coming! the robots are coming!

the robots are coming! the robots are coming!

In the mail: How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson. Excerpt:

"When the uprising comes, the first wave of hostile robots may be those closest to us. Be careful, your rosy-cheeked young servant robot may have grown up to become a sullen, distrustful killing machine.

STAY ALERT

Pay attention to your robotic staff (they may be beneath your contempt as well as beneath your eye level). Watch for the following telltale signs in the days and weeks before your robots run amuck:

- Sudden lack of interest in menial labor.
- Unexplained disappearances.
- Unwillingness to be shut down.
- Repetitive 'stabbing' movements.
- Constant talk of human killing.

CHECK THE MANUAL KILL SWITCH

Any potentially dangerous robot that interacts with people comes with a manual kill switch (also called an e-stop). Flipping this switch will freeze a robot in its tracks. Casually glance at your robot's shiny metal carapace. Are there signs of tampering? If so, the robot may be operating without a safeguard."

Looks like it will be hilarious; I can hardly wait.

Technorati Tags: Books, Humor

what's the exit strategy?

what's the exit strategy?

The United States sent over a hundred thousand troops across the Atlantic, to fight a brutal dictator with a ravenous appetite for neighbouring countries. The dictator has been conquered; he can no longer use weapons of mass destruction and terrorize minorities in his country. The country now holds free elections. The war is long over. The country's people don't want the Americans there.

So when, oh when, can the boys come home? What is the exit strategy? When will American troops finally pull out of Germany?

Technorati Tags: Politics, History, Warfare

in defense of the Political Teen

in defense of the Political Teen

Update: Welcome, Michelle Malkin and Hugh Hewitt readers. Sorry the place is such a mess, the maid is on vacation etc.

Drudge pointed out some shenanigans at CNN during the live coverage of VP Cheney's speech the other day. There was a large black X superimposed over the vice-president's face during the speech, for just a few frames. The Political Teen had a slow motion version of the incident posted to his site.

Jeff Harrell noticed something peculiar about the video at TPT's site: the X slowly faded in and out. Jeff had assumed that TPT had accomplished the slow-motion effect by simply repeating frames (ie 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, etc), so such a fade-in/fade-out simply didn't add up. Below are the six frames from the Political Teen's video that Jeff posted on his site demonstrating this fade effect, enlarged by 50%.

Frame 31

Frame 32

Frame 33

Frame 34

Frame 35

Frame 36


This anomaly upset Michelle Malkin, who holds the Political Teen in high regard, and therefore is disquieted by the idea that TPT may have doctored the video. Well, Michelle and Jeff can rest easy.

The explanation is that Jeff's assumption about the creation of the slow-motion version is incorrect. Rather than simply copying frames several times, the slo-mo was produced by following a formula like this:

new frame 1: 100% of old frame 1
new frame 2: 80% of old frame 1, 20% of old frame 2
new frame 3: 60% of old frame 1, 40% of old frame 2
new frame 4: 40% of old frame 1, 60% of old frame 2
new frame 5: 20% of old frame 1, 80% of old frame 2
new frame 6: 100% of old frame 2
new frame 7: 80% of old frame 2, 20% of old frame 3
new frame 8: 60% of old frame 2, 40% of old frame 3
new frame 9: 40% of old frame 2, 60% of old frame 3
new frame 10: 20% of old frame 2, 80% of old frame 3
new frame 11: 100% of old frame 3

...and so on. The fade-in/fade-out effect is an artefact of the process used to produce the slow-motion version of the video.

The scrolling text at the bottom of each frame shows this is the case. Compare the lettering in frames 31, 34, and 36:


Here it is easy to see that frames 31 and 36 are old original frames, and frame 34 is the superimposition of the two frames. The Political Teen did not doctor the video: the fades are a result of the process he used to make it slow-motion. I presume this is the standard technique for WMV format based upon my own experiences with video compression in putting together my robot video.

Before I pointed this out (in an email) to Jeff, he had posted a request for a higher-resolution, 30 frames per second version of the video. Well, that's probably not going to happen. The Political Teen's version is compressed using WMV format, bringing it down to a mere 93k. Had he posted an uncompressed version, it would be much larger. Suppose he had posted a 30 frames per second, 24 bit color, 512x384 (typical TV) resolution version of two seconds of video - that's about the length of the source he used - without compression. That works out to 30x3x512x384 bytes, or almost 36 megabytes for the two seconds of video - and that would be at regular speed, not slow motion. That's a lot of bandwidth to use for two seconds. Even if he did it at a 256x192 resolution, it is still 9 megs if it isn't compressed. If it is done in (1/5x) slow motion, then multiply that file size by 5. Considering the amount of traffic the Political Teen gets at his site, it just isn't going to happen.

Technorati Tags: Politics, Video, Media

sudoku (051122)

sudoku (051122)

Yay! It's Tuesday again, and that means - you guessed it - another easy sudoku.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

I will be posting the solution in a day or two.

Update: the solution is here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

another big surprise

another big surprise

I like taking those "what kind of _____ are you?" quizzes that I occasionally bump into around the net. Today, I took the "What scifi crew would you best fit in?" quiz from quizfarm.com, and the results are completely unsurprising:

You scored as Serenity (from Firefly). You like to live your own way and do not enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you that you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you. Coming on December 1, 2005: Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? The Sequel Serenity (from Firefly) 100% Nebuchadnezzar (from The Matrix) 94% SG-1 (from Stargate) 69% Millennium Falcon (from Star Wars) 69% Moya (from Farscape) 56% Enterprise D (from Star Trek) 50% Galactica (from Battlestar: Galactica) 31% Bebop (from Cowboy Bebop) 25% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Technorati Tags: Science Fiction

space tugboat

space tugboat

In geosynchronous orbit, there are constant pulls from the moon, sun, Jupiter, and variations in the solar wind, all of which conspire to move a geosynchronous satellite out of its orbit. To counteract these pressures, GEO satellites have some fuel and thrusters on board. Once the fuel - the least expensive part of the satellite - runs out, the satellite becomes useless and starts drifting. Its electronics, solar panels, and instruments - the most expensive parts of the satellite - might be working just fine.

Orbital Recovery has recently signed its first satellite-servicing mission. The company will be using a CX-OLEV (ConeXpress Orbital Life Extension Vehicle) space tug that fits into the currently-unused cone-shaped volume at the top of an Ariane rocket, piggybacking the tug onto the same launch as that of a larger, high-value satellite.

Once in low earth orbit, the space tug will deploy solar panels that power an ion engine for the climb to geosynchronous earth orbit. There, it will rendezvous with a target satellite which has run out of fuel. The CX-OLEV will push its nose into the target satellite's engine bell, and clamp on in a purely mechanical connection. Thereafter, the CX-OLEV acts as the target satellite's new engine and fuel supply.

This space tug system could extend the life of a high-value satellite by several years, easily paying for the tug many times over. When the tug's propellant runs out, it could be replaced by another tug, thus extending a valuable geosynchronous satellite's lifespan until its electronics, instruments, and solar panels die - in other words, indefinitely.

Technorati Tags: Space

flapping in the breeze

flapping in the breeze

The 32nd edition of the Red Ensign Standard is up at GenX@40. For those who are visiting my blog from the Standard, allow me to take this opportunity to welcome you to my 1970s-esque, Space1999-ish blog. Have a seat in a bean-bag chair while I go put on some Disco. Maybe we can do the Hustle later. Keep on Truckin'.

Technorati Tags: Red Ensign

whither Hayabusa?

whither Hayabusa?

I was watching the live video feed from Japan, and watching the Hayabusa Live blog as the spacecraft got closer and closer to the asteroid. I had to leave after Hayabusa got within 90 meters, and came back an hour and a half later expecting to have missed everything.

Well, here it is nearly eleven hours later, and there hasn't been an update from the Hayabusa blog. According to the Associated Press, the spacecraft closed to within 56 feet (17 meters) of the asteroid, and then JAXA lost contact with it for three hours. During the three hour blackout, the probe went into an automatic-operation mode, recording data that it later transmitted to ground control after communication was reestablished.

And now Reuters reports that it is unclear as to whether or not the spacecraft completed the most crucial part of its mission - landing on the asteroid and firing a small metal pellet into the surface, and collecting the resulting ejecta for return to earth.

Update: reaction to yesterday's Hayabusa glitch from Tom's Astronomy Blog and Postcards From the Bleeding Edge.

Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids

With apologies to Monty Python, part deux

With apologies to Monty Python, part deux

(previous post in the Monty Python series, here)

[thud]
[clang]
ECONOMICS: Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! [cough cough...] [clang] [...cough cough]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! Ninepence. [clang]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out your dead! [clang]
Bring out... [rewr!] ...your dead! [rewr!] [clang]
Bring out your dead!
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Here's one.
ECONOMICS: Ninepence.
FRANCE: I'm not dead!
ECONOMICS: What?
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Nothing. Here's your ninepence.
FRANCE: I'm not dead!
ECONOMICS: 'Ere. This country says it's not dead!
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Yes, it is.
FRANCE: I'm not!
ECONOMICS: It isn't?
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Well, it will be soon. It's very ill.
FRANCE: I'm getting better!
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: No, you're not. You'll be stone dead in a moment.
ECONOMICS: Oh, I can't take it like that. It's against regulations.
FRANCE: I don't want to go on the cart!
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Oh, don't be such a baby.
ECONOMICS: I can't take it.
FRANCE: I feel fine!
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Well, do us a favour.
ECONOMICS: I can't.
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes? It won't be long.
ECONOMICS: No, I've got to go to Jordan. They've lost nine today.
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Well, when's your next round?
ECONOMICS: Thursday.
FRANCE: I think I'll go for a walk.
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Look. Isn't there something you can do?
FRANCE: [singing] Frère Jacques! Frère Jacques!
[whop]
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Ah, thanks very much.
ECONOMICS: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Right. All right.
[howl] [clop clop clop]
Who's that, then?
ECONOMICS: I dunno. Must be America.
ISLAMIC RIOTERS: Why?
ECONOMICS: He hasn't got $h!t all over him.

Technorati Tags: Islamic Riots, Humor

Monster Sudoku (051119)

Monster Sudoku (051119)

Look! Wading in from the ocean! Is it Godzilla? Is it Mothra? No - it's Monster Sudoku! Yes, it is Saturday once again, and therefore time for me to twist your brain into a pretzel. It's just my way of proving that my readers are the smartest blog audience on the planet.

The rules of Monster Sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 16 by 16 grid, which is further divided up into sixteen 4 by 4 blocks. In each row, column, and 4x4 block, the letters A through P each get written exactly once. There is only one solution. If the letters are a little too small for you, click on the image to bring up a large version. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out (or copy it onto some graph paper) and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold). If you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

Whoever solves this first wins... um, let me see what I've got here... a link in my blogroll and a blog post by me extolling the winner's intellectual prowess. I will be posting the solution in two or three days.

Update: the solution is posted here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

what's going on with the shuttle?

what's going on with the shuttle?

NASA TV will carry a press conference on Tuesday, November 22nd, at 2PM EST to update us on the space shuttle program.

If I was in charge? One more trip to Hubble, and a few more trips to deliver major components to the ISS - two launches per shuttle, maximum - and then declare the shuttle fleet retired, which would put the retirement date in early 2008. Make it a fait accompli before the end of President Bush's term in office, rather than waiting until 2010. That way, the next president won't extend the fleet past 2010, and two years' worth of shuttle operations expenses (about 10 billion dollars) can be used in the development of the heavy lift vehicle and CEV, thus accelerating the Vision for Space Exploration by two years and (hopefully) preventing another demoralizing shuttle loss.

Technorati Tags: Space, NASA, Space Shuttle

SpaceX set to fly in a week

SpaceX set to fly in a week

Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies has set a time - 4PM EST on November 25th - for the first launch of the Falcon 1 rocket.

The rocket will be launching the FalconSat 2, a satellite that will monitor other satellites such as GPS and communications satellites to determine if their orbits are affected by space plasma. The FalconSat 2 was built by students under a program jointly run by the US Air Force and DARPA.

The launch will occur from the launchpad on Omelek Island and be controlled from the launch control center at nearby Kwajalein Atoll in the western Pacific; local time for the launch will be 9AM on November 26th.

Update: Rand Simberg was at the press conference, and links to Michael Belfiore's and Clark Lindsey's reports. And Clark helpfully linked to SpaceX's press release.

Update 2: Back Off, Government explains why this launch is so important:

"...maybe, just maybe, the only way to get regular people into space is if private small companies get involved and compete. Say create a free market in space? Like a market for space tourism? I think so.

So the reason why this flight is so important, is that space nutsos like Elon Munsk are doing just that. He's created his own company, and built rockets that have launch costs at a fraction of what the big government money addicted big guys have been selling. This flight, if successful, will mean that the little Elon did it."

Update 3: One of the Colorado Satellite Services guys working with SpaceX at Omelek, Jim White, is blogging the preparations for launch. (a tip o' the hat to Dan Schrimpsher)

Technorati Tags: Space

can I leave well enough alone?

can I leave well enough alone?

Apparently not. For the last year or so, I have used a news aggregator and listed it as the Robot Guy News. It worked... meh... it was ok I guess. However, I found a much better solution. This blog now has four FeedDirect news feeds at the bottom of the left sidebar. Now, finally, I think I have the blog set up the way I want it. For this week, at least.

Update: Well, that lasted all of a day. A little shuffling here, a little shuffling there, and fixing some code hither and yon, and finally finally FINALLY it's done.

Technorati Tags: Blog

Dream Chaser versus CEV

Dream Chaser versus CEV

SpaceDev has announced plans to build the Dream Chaser, a 6-person orbital vehicle based upon the HL-20 design. The Dream Chaser will use the rubber-burning engines that SpaceDev developed for Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne, will be doing manned suborbital flight tests in 2008, and will have manned test flights to orbit in 2010. Compare this with NASA's four-person CEV, which will be doing its first orbital flights in 2014.

Technorati Tags: Space, NASA

more moons of Saturn

more moons of Saturn

Some days I think that JPL is the only part of NASA that is worth anything. They are the guys who ran the hugely-successful Deep Impact mission, the beyond-all-expectations Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers, the Mars Pathfinder rover mission, and were involved in the NEAR Eros mission (as a junior partner to the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, where Mike Griffin worked before becoming NASA Administrator).

JPL is also responsible for the Cassini probe currently orbiting Saturn. I posted some pictures taken by Cassini last month, but now there are some more I'd like to share.

First up is a picture taken on September 22nd of Dione and Tethys. In this shot, Dione looks huge compared to Tethys, but Dione is only a little bigger: Dione is 1126 km across, and Tethys is 1071 km across. Dione looks much bigger in this image because the Cassini spacecraft is only 860000 km away (a little over twice the distance from the Earth to the moon) but 1.5 million km from Tethys (almost 4 times the distance from the Earth to the moon).



Next is a picture of Hyperion taken on September 26th from a distance of 62000 km. Hyperion has an unusual appearance. It is probably an icy body, and when it gets hit by darker, carbonaceous impactors, the cratered areas absorb more heat than the surrounding areas. These darker, warmer impact zones would then slowly melt their way toward Hyperion's center of mass, creating the radial-tunnels appearance. Hyperion's axis of rotation wobbles a lot, giving it a chaotic rotation; its orientation in space is totally unpredictable.



The final image posted here is of Pandora, taken on September 5th from a distance of about 52000 km. Pandora is a fairly small body, only 84 km across, and is the outer shepherd moon constraining Saturn's F ring. Pandora and its orbital partner Prometheus interact gravitationally with each other, giving both moons chaotic orbits around Saturn - the first such orbits found in the solar system.



Technorati Tags: Space, Saturn

sudoku (051117)

sudoku (051117)

Once again it is Thursday, so time for the second-hardest (or second-easiest) sudoku of the week. I guess it depends on whether you're a "cup is half-full" or a "cup is half-empty" kind of person.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, time yourself and put your time in the comments. I will be posting the solution in a day or two.

Update: the solution is here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

fifteen thousand

fifteen thousand

It looks like the readership of this blog has been steadily growing; I blogged for over a year before I hit the one thousand total hits, and it took until Sepetmber 12th of this year to reach ten thousand total hits. And here today, just a bit over nine weeks later, my Sitemeter just rolled over fifteen thousand. :) Thanks, everyone, you made my day. Now, if I can just get a thousand hits a day, I'll be well on my way to having this blog make me some money.

Technorati Tags: Blog

from Pajamas to Open Source

from Pajamas to Open Source

Pajamas Media has officially launched with a new name, Open Source Media. I am pleased to be included on the OSM blogroll, and hopefully I will be able to contribute original news to this collaboration of some of the biggest bloggers in the world.

Update: for those OSM bloggers who want the button code I am using in my sidebar, here it is:

<a href="http://www.osm.org/"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/260/171/320/osm.jpg" alt="Open Source Media"></a><br><br>

Update 2: Well, that's just great. Turns out, there is already an Open Source Media. And the original guys have been using that name since May, and also use bloggers as original sources. Why do I get the feeling that Roger L. Simon is going to be downing a lot of martinis today?

Update 3: OK, so the name has changed back from Open Source Media to Pajamas Media. The new logo code can be found here.

Technorati Tags: Media, Blog

good news, bad news for NPOESS

good news, bad news for NPOESS

The NPOESS (National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System) program, the marquee program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's satellite program, got a shot in the arm with the announcement yesterday that Raytheon had successfully completed the factory acceptance test of the Command, Control and Communications (C3) segment for the satellite system. On the other hand, NPOESS is going under the House Science Committee's microscope to examine cost overruns and construction delays in the system.

Technorati Tags: Space

sudoku (051115)

sudoku (051115)

Welcome to Tuesday, and another easy sudoku to start your day. You deserve it, after that Monday.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, time yourself and put your time in the comments. I will be posting the solution in a day or two. The winner receives a prize: a guest appearance in the Mr. Robot Guy comic.

Update: the solution is here, and the winner (Ben of NYC Nova Hunter) is immortalized here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

*tweak* *tweak*

*tweak* *tweak*

I've been messing around with the template for this blog some more. I changed the Space links on the left sidebar, adding several more links and categorizing them into the News, Agencies and Associations, Images and Simulations, Tutorials and Reference, and Fiction categories. I also added another 14 links to the Space Blogroll, put a few more comics on the page, and included two images at the bottom of the right sidebar to indicate the positions of the ISS and Hubble Space Telescope.

I'm probably not done yet. Although having the Evil Glenn Alliance blogroll is kinda cute, it takes way too long to load, by itself doubling the load time of the blog main page. I'm seriously considering getting rid of it, even though it means fewer links to my blog. I will likely keep it for a few more days, and if it frustrates me too much over that time then it's gone.

Update: To heck with it. The Evil Glenn Alliance is gone.

Technorati Tags: Blog

robots in spaaaaace

robots in spaaaaace

NASA has handed management of the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program to the Ames Research Center. The program will launch several robots to the moon over the period of 2008-2011 to study and map the lunar surface in detail. This is a critical component of the Vision for Space Exploration, as it will determine the future landing sites of the manned expeditions starting in 2018.

Technorati Tags: Space, NASA, Moon, Robots

big surprise

big surprise

I took the "how geeky are you?" test at QuizGalaxy.com, and found out that I am a supergeek. I know, shocking, isn't it.

You are a super geek You are into everything that is geeky – which is hard because there are so many types of geeks. You are very smart and have a great imagination. People who call you a geek are just jealous, right? Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

JAXA loses Minerva

JAXA loses Minerva

The 600-gram Minerva "baby robot", which was supposed to land on the asteroid Itokawa in advance of the landing of the Hayabusa probe, was lost before it was able to land on the asteroid. The Minerva robot drifted away from the surface of Itokawa after being released by Hayabusa.

Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids, Robots

still tweaking the template

still tweaking the template

I just can't leave well enough alone. I changed most of the links in my sidebars so that they open up in new windows, so that re-loading this page wouldn't be necessary every time I want to check out other blogs and come back to my own. I also got rid of BZ Toons (it hadn't updated since I first put it up) and replaced it with Dan's Cartoons. Finally I added two new comic strips at the bottom of the page: Aford T. Turtle, and my own Mr. Robot Guy cartoon.

This blog template will likely stay stable for a little while now, until I decide to add some more advertising or change the cartoons again - which could be a week from now, or next year.

Update: Ok, so that didn't last long. I reverted all the links back to opening in the same window. Turns out, the target="_blank" command is not valid W3C HTML. Ah well, I guess right-clicking still works, so if users want to open links in a new window, they still can.

Technorati Tags: Blog

Monster Sudoku (051112)

Monster Sudoku (051112)

Here we go again, another toughest-of-the-week Monster Sudoku. Easier puzzles appear here on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The rules of Monster Sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 16 by 16 grid, which is further divided up into sixteen 4 by 4 blocks. In each row, column, and 4x4 block, the letters A through P each get written exactly once. There is only one solution. If the letters are a little too small for you, click on the image to bring up a large version. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, time yourself and put your time in the comments. Go ahead, I dare ya. After all, you could be doing laundry or something instead, and isn't this a better use of your time? I will be posting the solution in a day or two.

Update: the solution is here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Technorati Tags: Warfare, Canada, History

robot maker going public

robot maker going public

iRobot, the makers of the Roomba vacuuming robot, Scooba floor-cleaning robot, and Packbot military robot, has gone public. The company issued 5 million shares at a price of $24 per share, 700 thousand more shares than they had initially planned to sell and at a higher price than the $21-$23 per share that they had expected to sell.

One of the founders of iRobot, Rodney Brooks, is the director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. He's also one of my personal favorite scientists for his work in subsumption architecture. But then, I'm a robot geek.

Technorati Tags: Robots, Artificial Intelligence

sudoku (051110)

sudoku (051110)

Welcome to Thursday, and the medium-hard version of sudoku for this week.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, time yourself and put your time in the comments. I will be posting the solution in a day or two. The winner receives a prize: your very own "truth", as told by Mary Mapes, Eason Jordan, or Jayson Blair.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

War on the Moon

War on the Moon

Sam Dinkin thinks that a war on the moon would be a good way to establish property rights.

There has been a blogospheric discussion about war in space over the last few days, much of it sparked by this poorly-sourced Reuters article. But let's just go through a what-if scenario anyhow: What if China does manage to land men on the moon in 2017, the year before NASA is planning to return to the moon? Would China go to war over the moon? Would the USA? Is such a war even possible?

Let's make some assumptions. First of all, assume that such a war would not be Total War, with nuclear missiles being lobbed back and forth between the two countries; that while there might be some engagements on the earth, they would be limited to things like cutting the supply line by taking out launch installations or some other critical link in the supply chain. Further, assume that the economies of China and the USA remain entwined for the foreseeable future. Such a war would take place largely on the moon itself, rather than damaging critical (to both sides) economic edifices on the earth.

What would trigger such a war? One possibility is the Chinese landing a base there and attempting to prevent any of those evil alt.space companies from doing the same, ostensibly to "preserve the common heritage of all mankind" while simultaneously developing resources there on their own.

Would it be possible for China to put a base at the lunar south pole and project military power to the lunar north pole? This implies a lot of materiel at the south polar base: multiple missiles with enough range to reach the north pole, or to intercept incoming traffic between earth orbit and the moon.

The supply line between the earth and the moon is very long and narrow. Long supply lines are a disaster for any protracted campaign; the severing of any point along the line means that your soldiers starve or run out of ammunition. There aren't too many alternate routes besides a Hohmann transfer orbit, unless you want to burn a lot more fuel than you need to (which reduces your payload). So, the entire supply line for both sides of the battle are extremely vulnerable. In a campaign that lasts longer than a few missile launches, the combatants would need to have bases large enough to produce their own food and weaponry. The Chinese lunar south pole base would have to be largely self-sufficient.

This implies a very large base, much larger than is currently envisioned by either the Chinese or American government space programs. It is doubtful that either side could produce a self-sufficient base before the other side established a substantial toehold.

Suppose the war is put off until after such a base is built and staffed. Is it reasonable to assume that a self-sufficient base would remain under the control of the earth government that put it there? If a lunar base is large enough to be self-sufficient, and is therefore no longer dependent upon an earth government to sustain itself, then it becomes a de facto nation of its own. And it would be a nation in possession of the ultimate high ground; at the top of the gravity well, it would only take a small nudge to strike at any point on the earth.

For this reason I think it is unlikely that either China or NASA would establish a self-sufficient base; an alt.space company on the other hand might find it very attractive to become its own lunar-based nation, if it could make a profit in doing so. Therefore, if any war occurs on the moon, it would not be China vs. the USA; it would be between competing private companies / new nations.

Would such a war be good for either party? My crystal ball gets a little hazy at this point. The establishment of alt.space city-states is far enough in the future that any extrapolation beyond that time is based upon a very tall, thin thread of reasoning, even more brittle than what I have indulged in above.

Update: Jon Goff shows why the scenario I use above, for how such a war could start, would be indefensible under the international law that China would be purporting to defend. Rand Simberg and Mark Whittington are getting into a rather entertaining pissing match over this topic.

Update 2: Wheeee, this is fun. Mark Whittington fires back at Jon and Rand.

Technorati Tags: Space, Warfare

autonomous robot milestone

autonomous robot milestone

Zoe, an autonomous robot developed by Carnegie Mellon University, successfully completed a field trial in the Atacama desert in Chile. The robot covered about 200 km in five weeks. This might not seem so great, considering the teams that finished the DARPA Grand Challenge covered the same distance in about seven hours; however, those robots were following a pre-determined course. The Zoe robot explored without a map, deciding for itself where to go.

Technorati Tags: Robots, Artificial Intelligence

standing down

standing down

The Jet Propulsion Lab's Dawn project, a mission to study the asteroids Vesta and Ceres, has been put on hold due to budget pressures. The project is behind schedule and 10 to 16 percent over its 373 million dollar budget, so an investigation (expected to conclude in January 2006) is being done to determine if there is a problem with the way the project is being managed.

Technorati Tags: Space, JPL, Asteroids, NASA

explanations for the muslim riots in europe

explanations for the muslim riots in europe

De Doc thinks that what we are seeing in France and elsewhere is a replay of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress:

"I find myself thinking of The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress. The novel’s heroes wish to overthrow the rule of the UN, and form a cabal to that end. They plan and work, carefully, diligently, towards being able to mount such a revolution. But the revolution happens spontaneously, as the result of a gangrape carried out by a squad of the UN’s troopers. The cabal finds itself swept up in the spontaneous riot…

and turns it INTO an uprising, and then a revolution.

Given the initial conditions under which the original anger “on the streets” turned to torchings, and spread, and is taking on a life of it’s own… well. It doesn’t take a genius to see that an organized group, which has aspirations to political power, might see this as a golden opportunity."

Megan McArdle thinks they're just rioting because it's fun:

"Everyone who has ever taken their .22 out to the back forty and shot up a line of old bug spray cans knows this. Seeing things break, disintegrate, or explode, at absolutely no personal risk to yourself, lights up some primitive reptilian part of our brain with searing glee. I've often thought there would be big money for the firm that figured out how to build an adult recreation center where frustrated Americans could go to have a beer, take a sledgehammer to a used computer, and throw some glassware at the walls."

I think the explanation is even simpler. These riots are happening in France, in Germany, in Denmark; they are not happening in Britain, or Poland, or the United States. Anyone who has dealt with a schoolyard bully should be able to see exactly what is going on. Those kids who cower before a bully, those who attempt to avoid the issue, those who appear weak, are precisely the ones that get picked on. Those that stand up to the bully are the ones who get left alone.

The parallels should be obvious: those countries that have stood up to AlQaeda, who have stood beside the USA as it led the fight against dictatorships that sponsor terrorism, are not experiencing the riots that those who cowered and appeased and were complicit (in the UN during the leadup to the Iraq war) are experiencing.

AlQaeda and other radical strains of Islam have not been secretive about their intentions. They want to establish a Caliphate over the entire world. As long as France and others act like cowards and say "thank you sir, may I have another?" they will continue to be subjected to escalating violence. When they finally grow some cojones the violence will stop. That's the way it always is when dealing with bullies; as soon as you stand up to them, their power disintegrates.

Update: I screwed up. Denmark contributed 500 troops to the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq, and yet has the same riot problems as France. Sorta blows my theory out of the water, huh?

Technorati Tags: Islamic Riots

sudoku (051108)

sudoku (051108)

Here we are again, Tuesday morning and it's time for SUDOKU! And aren't you lucky, the easiest one of the week is today. Let's get right to it.

The rules of sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 9 by 9 grid, which is further divided up into nine 3 by 3 blocks. In each row, column, and 3x3 block, the numbers 1 through 9 each get written exactly once. The puzzle board generally starts with 18 to 30 of the cells in the grid already filled in. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, time yourself and put your time in the comments. I will be posting the solution in a day or two. The winner receives a prize: their name published here, a kind of virtual immortality.

Update: the solution is posted here.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

Space Business

Space Business

I added something new to the left sidebar today; a list of space businesses. Not included on the list are such giants as Boeing or LockMart or Rosaviakosmos or Arianespace; for such companies as these, space is either not their primary business or else they are simply branches of government space agencies. Instead, included on the Space Business list are those actual companies, mostly small start-ups, for whom space is their primary business.

I expect lots of changes to this list, as new companies start up, as some of them fail, and as some get swallowed up by other companies. The list of space businesses will look very different a couple of years from now; I doubt that most of the businesses on the list will even be around in 2010. That's the nature of business though. The majority of all businesses fail within the first five years, and those in the space industry will be no different.

I pretty sure that my current list is not complete. If you know of a space business that I have not included on my list that should be there, please let me know by leaving a link in the comments.

Technorati Tags: Space

not just science

not just science

Space has to be about more than science, or people just won't be interested. Jeff Foust proposes saving the world, and Hans Starlife calls for a shift in focus in space away from science:

"Even an energetic scientist like Carl Sagan, whom I had the fortune to discuss this topic with, knew that space is about so much more than science. However, most people are terribly shortsighted. Few care about the long-term perspectives presented by visionaries like Sagan, John Young, and now Martin Rees; that our choices stands between spaceflight and extinction.

The solution here is not to engage harder in the human vs. robot debate, presenting better arguments, but rather to shift the entire focus away from this discussion about rewards, creating a new focus. Otherwise, we will continue to face an endless uphill battle. How can we ever “win” the humans vs. robot debate, when the issue at stake not even comes close to our goal of colonizing?"

I think Hans is right. This ties back to the point that Dan Schrimpsher made a week ago; ultimately, space colonization is not about a select few people getting to go temporarily, for the sole purpose of "doing science". It is about getting average people to go, permanently, to do the whole gamut of human endeavour.

I think for most people, the human presence in space means scientists and rocket jockeys, people with very specialized physics and engineering backgrounds. It doesn't occur to them that someone who is an expert on, for instance, concrete, could have a future off the planet Earth. But if space colonization is to ever become a reality, people with expertise in masonry will be essential in order to build and repair the permanent habitats.

Other essential occupations would include farming, cooking, teaching, mining, animal husbandry, veterinarian, medicine, light or heavy manufacturing, textile production, garbage collection, entertainment... name an occupation we have on earth, and we'll need it in space colonies too.

Sector 4 Command had something to say about this idea the other day:

"Looking for life in space (or at least in the solar system) isn't going to excite the masses. Bringing the masses into space... now that's going to excite the masses."

That's why companies like Virgin Galactic and SpaceShot and a host of other similar companies are so important, probably more important in the long run than NASA. They will be the ones who actually bring the masons and farmers and teachers and so on into space.

Technorati Tags: Space

The Red Ensign Flies Again

The Red Ensign Flies Again

Rootleweb has hoisted a Star-Wars-themed 31st edition of the Red Ensign Standard.

Technorati Tags: Red Ensign

you can pack a lot into 600 grams

you can pack a lot into 600 grams

The MINERVA robot on the Japanese Hayabusa probe will be exploring the surface of the asteroid Itokawa shortly. The robot moves by hopping around, and contains three cameras (which will take pictures with a resolution of 1 millimeter at a distance of 10cm) and six temperature probes for measuring the surface temperature of Itokawa. More information on the Hayabusa probe can be found at SpaceRef, the BBC, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Technorati Tags: Space, Asteroids, Robots

Monster Sudoku (051105)

Monster Sudoku (051105)

Well, Saturday is once again upon us, and that means it is time once again for sudoku. I post a sudoku puzzle here three times a week: Tuesday's is the easiest, Thursday's is harder, and Saturday's the hardest of all. I decided to do something a little different for today's puzzle - instead of the standard 9x9 sudoku, today we get a 16x16 Monster Sudoku.

The rules of Monster Sudoku: The puzzle board consists of a 16 by 16 grid, which is further divided up into sixteen 4 by 4 blocks. In each row, column, and 4x4 block, the letters A through P each get written exactly once. There is only one solution. If the letters are a little too small for you, click on the image to bring up a large version. For those who need help, a short tutorial on how to solve sudoku puzzles can be found here.

To solve this puzzle, I suggest first saving the GIF on your computer. Then print it out and solve it in pencil (or in pen if you're feeling bold), or if you don't feel like using paper, then solve it using a graphics editor such as Microsoft Paint.

If you solve this puzzle, time yourself and put your time in the comments. I will be posting the solution in a day or two. Since this particular puzzle requires extensive mental gymnastics to solve, anyone who solves it automatically becomes a Sudoku Ninja.

Update: The solution is here.

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