Potpourri LXIII

Eventually I'll finish the laundry, shower, and get dressed. However, I have to maintain that image of the "pajamas media," right? Off we go...

Three from Melissa on recovering/refurbishing old data from the Apollo program. As M noted, "What were they thinking?"

• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/08/15/nasa_footage_mishap/
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/11/11/vintage_ibm_tape_drive_moon_dust_data/
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/29/moon_landing_tapes/print.html

From Lin, an analysis of the cap and trade bill, which doesn't just touch evil utility companies, but also the sales of private homes. Ya know, it really would've been useful if members of Congress had read the bill before voting for it.

Some less-than-warm-and-fuzzy thoughts about the future of NASA from one of Jerry Pournelle's readers.

Was sexual liberation a good thing for love and marriage? Some thoughts here. (Note: occasional saucy language included.)

NASA now has a Twitter feed in Spanish. Bienvenidos a las estrellas, y'all!

Now this is fun: Air New Zealand's video safety notice at the beginning of their flights features crew members wearing nothing but body paint. The DUDE (Down Under Defense Expert) informs me that the "Nothing to Hide" campaign is ANZ's attempt to stick it to a competitor, JetStar, which has a lot of hidden fees for baggage service, etc. Love that Kiwi sense of humor.

Speaking of baring it all on airplanes, a flight was diverted after a New York man decided to get utterly nekkid.

And since I'm in the neighborhood, a computer glitch caused massive delays for United Airlines flights at O'Hare.

Soap operas in space? Alas, yes. This is much different from “space opera,” which is a specific sub-genre of science fiction. A space opera is something like Star Wars or Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica: heavy on the drama, light on science fact, and usually concerning issues related to a unique (space) environment. A soap opera in space is a romance that just happens to have space as a background. Expect a lot of bad writing, cheeseball special effects, and incredibly bad science. Pardon me if my SF snob shows...

And that's about it for now. The first load of laundry is done, so I can get outside. Have a safe and enjoyable Independence Day weekend, enjoying what freedoms are allowed to you.