Potpourri CXLIV
The fun continues...
From Kate Down Under: European spacecraft approaching an asteroid.
Here's an interesting idea: a fundraiser to create a science fiction novella market.
No WAY! Viggo Mortensen starring in a movie about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung? Way.
From Tracy: An online program for history writers.
Multi-media visions of life at a lunar settlement.
Evolution as depicted in graffiti.
Star Wars-themed cereals. No, really.
Wonder Woman is getting a remake of her costume/uniform. There were a few alternate suggestions...
For Anika: the Octopus has spoken on the World Cup. Also, be on the lookout for unicorn crossings!
That cat's gonna eat your eyes when you die alone!
Okay, you've got to be a serious geek to appreciate this. I am, so I do. ThinkGeek.com sells t-shirts with logos from fictional companies that are depicted in science fiction stories. For example, Cosa Nostra Pizza is a mafia-run pizza chain in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. If someone gets the inside joke, you know they're probably someone worth talking to...or so geek social theory goes.
I'll just tee this up without comment.
Lindsey Lohan going to jail for 90 days. Yawn.
The world’s ugliest footballer (soccer player) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.7a45d8e08d846949099d5b95a1fa7ea4.871&show_article=1
“Wine product” is to wine what “processed cheese food” is to cheese, apparently. http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/07/06/you-have-now-been-warned-about-wine-product/?hpt=Sbin
Someone has made a satire on domestic terrorism. No, really.
Oh, cool! Someone has archived Omni Magazine online! I was a fan and subscriber.
Just watch this trailer. I don't usually go in for French films, but this sounds fun!
Education
Kids in the Orlando area are skipping college for other options, including the military and trade schools. I don't think this is a bad thing. College isn't for everyone (or am I not allowed to say that?).
U.S. Politics
From Jerry Pournelle: Arthur Laffer on how to fix the economy. His recommendations, of course, will never be implemented.
After a long battle in Congress, EADS (the parent company of Airbus Industrie) is once again making a bid on the U.S. Air Force tanker contract. Here's another article on that whole fiasco.
Want to irritate the Transportation Security Administration on your next airplane trip? Consider wearing one of these t-shirts.
Cory Doctorow has an interesting piece on the "jobless recovery." With 9+ percent unemployment, how do you even CALL that a recovery?
A reminder on monopsony and that Uncle Sam is currently the largest and most viable customer for the space business.
What happened to the "Republican attack machine?" Democrats are digging hard for dirt on GOP candidates in the 2010 elections.
Job killing? Nonsense! The administration is pro-business. Didn't you know?
Indiana is one of four states (I believe) that is running in the black. How? Check this out
Science, Technology, and Space
From Dar: What the oil spill would look like on Day 360 if it's not stopped by then.
No, the government is not developing an internet "kill switch." Here's what they are doing: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704545004575352983850463108.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories Doc's comment: Fascinating. Makes a ton more sense than the earlier article about the government having an Internet "kill switch." Monitor infrastructure networks for signs of intrusion, use crazy-good NSA countermeasures to foil those attempts to shut down power grids, etc. The areas mentioned in the article (utilities, public transit, air traffic control) are already beholden to various government regulatory agencies, so I'm not seeing the "Big Brother" threat here, honestly.
Robots making driving safer? Hm...
Work is now progressing on a solar-powered aircraft. They were going for a 24-hour test flight. Still, what do you do if you're based in Seattle or Alaska or a very high load factor? I'd say that we're awhile away from making this standard operating equipment at O'Hare International Airport.
A variety of techno-links:
- Dark skies or church visibility? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/ct-x-n-dark-skies-0707-20100707,0,1089791.story
- Want a really, REALLY fast car? http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/07/bugatti-veyron-super-sport-268-mph/
- Hard to believe, but Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been orbiting the Moon for a year now. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/new-moon-revealed-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-100707.html
- A high-end watch…and more. http://gizmodo.com/5581180/this-is-a-watch-believe-it-or-not
- Nice house… http://gizmodo.com/5580961/who-doesnt-want-to-live-in-this-dream-house
- Slow production rates for the GM/Chevy Volt expected: http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/07/autos/volt_production/index.htm?hpt=T2
- A site dedicated to preserving the S.S. United States, once the fastest cruise liner on the seas (back when people cared about such things): http://ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/blog/
- A couple off-kilter views on nuclear war: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/03/yackety-sax-global-t.html and my favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TWJt8yUpQw&feature=related
- Oh, speaking of nukes, there has been another suggestion about nuking the oil spill off the Gulf Coast to plug the leak. Right, because THAT won't cause any more environmental damage.
This is weird: apparently food in a virtual environment can trigger stress in people with eating disorders.
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