Potpourri CVII

Ares I-X is currently scheduled to roll out to Launch Complex 39B Tuesday, October 20, at 12:01 a.m. I will be driving down to work on October 22 and will stay as long as needed. Huzzah! The rollout was delayed by 24 hours due to challenges with a hydraulic accumulator. However, from what I've heard on my end, that work is going well, so we'll just have to see what effect, if any, this has on the October 27 launch date. Looking forward to it! I plan to at least take pictures during the event. Not sure beyond that. Going to have a lot of writing to do, I suspect.

Looking to buy myself a small wine refrigerator. I've heard good things about Sears' Kenmore model. Other suggestions welcome...keep in mind, again, the limited space in my apartment and desire not to go crazy on spending here.

Here are a couple more editorials about the Limbaugh/St. Louis Rams fracas, one by Limbaugh himself, one by someone on the Wall Street Journal editorial board.

Here's an editorial on the Augustine Panel by a group of very smart people.

From Doc, an article on finding and selling old wines in Paris.

From Lin: the Social Security Administration is withholding a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the first time since 1975. I guess I fibbed to my mom back in 2004. I told her then that I didn't think Social Security would cut off in her lifetime, but most likely wouldn't exist in mine. At the rate our government is spending money, it might get cut off in a decade!

NASA is hosting a lunar excavation robotics competition as part of its Centennial Challenges program. This is a very cool thing because it engages young people in practical work and helps NASA get people outside the agency to help them develop hardware that will be needed for future exploration.

Apparently technical writers have among the least stressful jobs in the country. Who knew?

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) has a new map showing our solar system's location in the Milky Way.

An article from The Space Review on the "why" of space exploration. I've been writing a long rant on the dismal state of space advocacy, but I don't think I'll publish it. Why add to the despair?