Potpourri XLIV

Okay, first things first: e-niece Morgan started her bone marrow transplant today. Her mom says she continues to be a "trooper," which fits with what you'll read on her blog. Morgan also has a Skype account (Morgan6261), if you'd like to send good wishes. Here's Dar's update:

Update on Morgan: last bout of radiation is taking place now. Handling all this very well. Skyping, eating like a piggy, laughing (between pukes). I haven't seen her bc she's in intense germ-protection-mode.

Later this afternoon, she will be given, in essence, new life. Bone marrow will be injected into her broviac (semi permanent, umbilical-cord-looking tubes). Painless transplant.We watch and wait...in about 10 days, she should start to react. In about 12 days, we should see signs of acceptance or rejection. We pray for:

• Acceptance
• NO viruses
• NO relapse.

Keep those good vibes coming up here to Philly!

Dar also added:

Bone marrow transplantees celebrate the big day as their birthdays.
Morgan will adopt this donor's stem cells (she will take on his/her T-cells which didn't match her own.) Wild, isn't it?

Wild indeed. That's some scary stuff for an 8-year-old (or any-year-old) to go through. Your good vibes and prayers, of course, are welcome. The doctors use what wisdom they have, and we leave the rest to God.

*

Onto the usual foolishness.

There's a report from NASA that says an early asteroid bombardment of the Earth (~4 billion years ago) didn't inhibit, but improved the success of life on Earth. If that logic were true, shouldn't we get up into space and whack the planet with a few big rocks to improve our biodiversity? I'm kidding, you understand, but this hypothesis doesn't sound right to me somehow.

Tip o' the fedora to Tim B. for finding this: some of my more cynical peers think this is really how space projects are funded. If that were true, we'd have listened to Curtis LeMay and would have a nuclear weapons base on the Moon by now.

Here's an interesting site: The Institute for the Future (IFTF):

The Institute for the Future (IFTF) is an independent, nonprofit research group with over 40 years of forecasting experience. The core of our work is identifying emerging trends and discontinuities that will transform global society and the global marketplace. We provide insights into business strategy, design process, innovation, and social dilemmas. Our research generates the foresight needed to create insights that lead to action. Our research spans a broad territory of deeply transformative trends, from health and health care to technology, the workplace, and human identity. The Institute for the Future is located in Palo Alto, CA.

New from Hu:

• President Obama and Charlie Bolden have spoken, but there's no word yet that he's Obama's official appointee to the NASA Administrator spot. Why the caution, I wonder?
• After 100 years of silk-scarved glory, it looks like the age of the fighter jock is nearly over.
• Satellite imagery is being used to fight the war on drugs.
• Ahmadenijad is claiming that Iran has tested a new long-range missile. Oh, goody.
• It's about time to upgrade the nation's global positioning system. Who's going to launch them? SpaceX or some other private-sector provider, one hopes.

I told my buddy Doc that I was contemplating shifting from a PC to a Mac, NOT because I've "seen the light" or joined the Cult of Mac. I'm just sick of all the translation problems that occur when a PC-generated document that I create has hiccups and burps when it moves back and forth between my machine and the Macs in the graphic design shop. Doc offered some insights on what I might need, including this site.

And Jerry Pournelle has some skeptical thoughts on the global warming movement and the economy--they are related more closely than just paying more for gasoline.

Oh, wait! The first trailer for the "V" remake is out there, and I've got to admit, it looks pretty cool.

Does anyone else sense a little Obama paranoia in this trailer, though, or is it just me?