Trip Report: NewSpace 2012

[Okay, I'm late with this, but the information won't go away just because I'm a week or two late reporting it. Major caveat: These opinions are my own, and do not reflect those of NASA, my employer, or any other organization.]

The NewSpace Conference began as the annual gathering of citizen advocates of the Space Frontier Foundation (SFF), but also has become a place where investors, entrepreneurs, and technologists go looking to start businesses. How does this differ from the International Space Development Conference (ISDC), which I've attended numerous times and chaired last year? As Inigo Montoya might say, "Allow me to 'splain."

Politically, SFF is the major libertarian space organization, so the conference very much focuses on free-market approaches to space development. The National Space Society, which hosts ISDC, is more of a middle-of-the-road, Democrat/Republican organization. NSS isn't entirely focused on private sector development of space; they also support government (meaning NASA) driven activities. NSS is more of a "big tent," interested in multiple technologies and approaches to space. This difference in philosophy is likewise reflected in the formats of the two conferences. With so many diverse interests involved, the ISDC is often broken into multiple tracks and, as a result, multiple rooms. With NewSpace, the conference has essentially one focus, and its sessions are held in one room. Not saying one's better than the other, just observing a difference.

And, to repeat, NewSpace is all about using the free market to get human beings to settle the solar system. In recent years, that message is getting a larger audience. One SFF member told me that attendance has grown from around 75 to 450 in only a few years.

Philosophy
Given the free-market focus, one might presume that the audience is treated to a long series of Ayn Rand lectures. In fact, I can't recall Rand's name being invoked once, or any other philosopher for that matter. Individuals espoused philosophies, but they were their own or existing philosophies expressed their own way. Free-market principles have gone native.

Economic Development
NewSpace 2012 is held in Silicon Valley, the community of high-tech companies inhabiting the southern end of San Francisco Bay. Since the 1970s, the area has been an incubator for bright engineering ideas, from silicon chip-based integrated circuits to personal computers and mass-produced software (you might have heard of Steve Jobs). The area is also known for its aggressive venture capital market--the investors go where the money is, and the money is very much in technology. Today it is home to Apple, Google, Intel, and other high-tech giants, not to mention NASA Ames Research Center.

In the last ten years, some folks who got rich developing software, hardware, or web applications have put their money into space. What's happening now is that others are starting to get into the game, and the Space Frontier Foundation is making efforts to help that along by leading a space business plan competition, which awards prizes to space-based or space-related businesses. The rules can be found here, but the biggest draw for the 55 competitors was that the first-place winner received $100,000 and the second-place winner won $10,000. Much of the Friday session was taken up by the presentations and Q&A by the judges. The winners were announced at the gala on Friday.

Again, the SFF's focus on free-market solutions to space allows it to concentrate on this type of competition.

Working Out the Roles of Government and the Private Sector
Given all the rugged individualism and focus on the private sector, it might surprise you (as it did me) how many government officials attended NewSpace, especially from NASA. This is because the Obama administration has continued the Bush administration's policy of encouraging private companies to launch cargo and crew members to the International Space Station. Not only that, the Federal Aviation Administration has had a keen interest in expanding the licensing of commercial launches as well as suborbital launches to the edge of space. (Lest you think the libertarians are warming to government, I heard at least one person say that the government's primary interest in supporting all this activity is to grow the tax base and avoid the high cost of NASA.)

The businessfolk in the room were interested in government performing the following roles:

• Sharer of new technologies: Nearly all of the basic research and development for space technology was developed by military officers or government civil servants (Werhner von Braun was Director of Marshall Space Flight Center, not a contractor). NASA and its predecessor organization NACA have done a lot of the original R&D, discovered basic principles of a science or technology, and then once they proved them out, made it available to the American public or the private sector to exploit for mass production. This practice goes back nearly 100 years, as NACA was formed in 1915. NASA is still doing research, and the session given by James Reuther, Acting Director of the agency's "game-changing" technology program was well attended.
• Purchaser of products and services: Aside from basic R&D, government doesn't produce a whole lot. Farms, construction materials, cars, trucks, airplanes, trains, processed foods, computers, and millions of other small products are built by individuals or companies in the private sector. It's even written into many government procurement laws that if an equivalent product or service already exists to perform a certain task and that product or service costs less than what the government could do it for, the agency in question has to purchase the private product/service first. Such is the logic behind the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program and its follow-ons CCDev and CCICap. More on that later.
• Early adopter of new technologies: Sometimes NASA, Department of Defense (DoD), or other government agencies will mandate that new technologies be incorporated into test programs. This provides economic development and "pushes the envelope" of what current technologies can do. Government might win by getting something cool at a low cost, the company wins by having a guaranteed buyer. There was quite a bit of talk about "public-private partnerships" as well.
• Builder of infrastructure: There are things government can do more effectively or willingly than the private sector simply because there's no profit in it. Airports come to mind, along with seaports or (once upon a time) power systems, canals, or air traffic control systems. Another form of "infrastructure" would be legal regimes, regulations, and standardized "rules of the road" for conducting business. For example, NASA and the FAA reached an agreement on how commercial space-launch services would be certified for passenger safety. Businesses prefer consistency in the rule of law so that they know what it will cost to comply with government regulations. The NASA/FAA agreement was welcome, but many in the audience were concerned that the specific rules for passenger safety had not yet been nailed down. Stay tuned.

What was refreshing was to hear the rational debates that were being held about the proper role(s) of government in the private sector.

Where the Technology's Going
It's hard to overlook the rockets--we don't get to space without them--or the people who are building them: Elon Musk, David Masten, John Carmack, etc. However, rockets are expensive, especially if you want to build them so that they carry enough mass into space to do something useful and so that they don't explode. So if you're smart, you don't get into the rocket-building business. As I said, it's expensive. It's also complex--rocket science, after all--and requires a lot of industrial capability that is not easy to build or acquire. However, that is not what the people competing in the Space Business Plan Competition were doing. They were looking for ways to play in space for considerably fewer dollars.

For example, the presentations I watched focused on nano-scale materials to increase germ resistance on surfaces inside space habitats; a "smart propellant" for satellite thrusters that would only activate when a current is passed through it; and a crowd-sourced "cube sat" (satellites 10 centimeters to a side), which was a project Science Cheerleader and I supported.

In each of these cases, the competitors were not aiming to build a big, friggin' rocket, space station, or anything like that. Their goal was to specialize in some tiny part of the market that had the potential for massive growth. Materials are everywhere. Cube sats are becoming more common as "Moore's Law" continues to double the number of transistors per computer every 18 months. The aim, as with everything in Silicon Valley, is to develop the "killer app," that one really cool and useful technology that suddenly everyone must have. Consider Facebook, or YouTube for example.

Throughout the "NewSpace" sector, entrepreneurs are hoping to recreate this industry in the Silicon Valley image so that, eventually, more and more private citizens have access to space. This is still not as easy as some would prefer. The rocket equation is a lot more resistant to technological advances than Moore's Law because most computers are not trying to accelerate to Mach 25 before entering an environment with high radiation, no gravity, and no air. Still, the true believers are hopeful, as am I, that some genius will produce that killer app or apps that enables rockets to be as common as laptop computers. I'm not holding my breath, mind you, but I can hope.

Space Launch System
I'm going to keep my remarks short on this, but at one point, I was faced with a PowerPoint slide that read, "SLS Delenda Est: The Senate Launch System [sic] must be destroyed." Obviously I've got some hard work ahead of me in my day job.

The Big Picture/Vision
As I noted earlier, the Space Frontier Foundation is interested primarily in free individuals settling throughout the solar system under a regime of personal freedoms and laissez-faire capitalism. Other individuals speaking in the "visionary" sessions focused on the future we're likely to face with ever-advancing computers, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and robotics--the Singularity, or something approaching it. As Arthur C. Clarke once put it, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." At the rate technology is advancing, all I can say is prepare to be astounded.

Listening to the talk at the conference, the future would seem to belong to the smart, the rich, and the tech-savvy--the smart people's 1 percent, if you will. That's great if you fit into one of those categories. The question I asked during the last session was and is: "What do you do with those who are none of the above?" I didn't get a satisfactory answer from anybody on the panel. Perhaps they didn't see my intent, but there are folks out there who are unknowingly or willfully uneducated--whose jobs will increasingly be replaced by ever-smarter machines. What's to become of them? The number of niches being filled by advanced technology will continue to increase. If you can't afford all the cool toys or your culture or religion forbids them, how do you coexist with "magic?" I have no answers, either, but that's a conversation that needs to be had as we continue our quest to send people to live beyond Earth.

Summary
NewSpace was enjoyable because I had a lot of friends there and because there were a lot of interesting things going on. There's a real future being made in the entrepreneurial sector of space. How it all unfolds, only time will tell.

Book Review: Fallen Astronauts

Every once in awhile I read a book that covers aspects of the space program that I hadn't known before. Such is the case with Fallen Astronauts, a book cowritten by Colin Burgess, Bert Vis, and a Facebook space friend of mine, Kate Doolan. The subtitle of this book, Heroes Who Died Reaching for the Moon, conveys the topic well: this is a series of stories about American (and Russian) astronauts who died during the race to the moon but never made it there.



Primarily this is the story of Americans who died prior to Apollo's eventual triumphs. Their names are mostly unknown outside of the space community--Gus Grissom, Ed White, Roger Chaffee, Ted Freeman, C.C. Williams, Charlie Bassett, Elliot See, and Ed Givens--but most of them can be read on the Astronaut Memorial wall at Kennedy Space Center.

A few patterns begin to emerge in reading these men's biographies: white males born 1925-1935, interested in engineering or aviation from an early age, driven to attend one of the nation's military academies (West Point or Annapolis), very smart, very patriotic. Like most of America's astronauts, they were and are among the best of our best--intelligent, physically fit (Ed White tried out for America's Olympic team), and possessed of the maturity, professionalism, and fearlessness required to fly into space when our nation's space program was still new and highly dangerous. Space exploration is still highly dangerous and subject to accidents (the last seven astronaut names added to the memorial wall were added in 2003), and our astronauts continue to be the same types of overachievers as the men portrayed in this book.

The Soviet space program, much more secretive, still had its share of best-and-brightest space heroes, also drawn from their air forces. A single chapter of this brief book (254 pages of text) discusses cosmonauts who died on the other side of the Cold War space race. Even after the fall of the USSR, Russia remains protective and quiet about the failures of their program, and some secrets might never be known. However, the courage of their astronauts was no less than ours, and like ours they faced the very real possibility of death in space--as some of them did. Some of their names, at least those that were known to the West in 1971, were included on a plaque mission commander Dave Scott left on the moon during Apollo 15.

A few things struck me about this book, in addition to the striking biographies of the astronauts. First, given that the book was written by three non-Americans (two Australians and a Dutchman), I was surprised by the great seriousness, sympathy, and respect the authors showed toward their subject. This approach was gratifying, as it could have gone very easily into maudlin sentimentalism (they come close) or outraged anger (the closest they come is making a plea for Ed Givens to be included on the Astronaut Wall). For the most part, though, they give us just the facts. Also, the authors did their homework, seeking out sources beyond the typical technical briefings or NASA press releases, going so far as to solicit letters from family members and peers of the astronauts to get a sense of the astronauts as men. The letters are quite affecting. Lastly, the quality of the writing is simply excellent.

If I have any criticism of the book--and it's a minor one--it is that when you read the individual chapters, you can tell they were clearly written by separate authors as there is some repeated content in each of them that could have been eliminated. Because of that, the book reads like a series of separate essays rather than a unified work. However, the authors all manage to write in a similar style and convey the same general themes and sentiments.

And what are those sentiments?

A few days ago, as part of my day job, I was asked to review a speech astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson gave at the National Space Symposium. He was talking about the philosophy of our nation's space program, and he compared it to the sort of exploration cave men first did: "Not all of us leave the cave. Not everyone wants to, and that's okay. Not everyone who leaves the cave comes back. But we erect statues to those who do because they are heroes." Amen.

2011 in Review

You have your retrospective perspective, I have mine. It's been a busy year, and this review is more for my reference than yours. If you find the thoughts worthwhile, great.

So, one year ago...

While not part of my official day-job duties, I served as Chairman of the National Space Society’s 2011International Space Development Conference May 17-22. This event required coordinating, marketing, and planning the event, from the web site to the programming. It also involved working with the National Space Society in Washington, DC, NASA Headquarters, Marshall Space Flight Center's Office of Strategic Analysis & Communication, Huntsville Space Professionals, and other organizations and sponsors. The five-day event included a Space Investment Summit; a job fair; a gala dinner at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center; a trade show hosting over 20 companies and other organizations; bus tours of MSFC and local attractions; a luncheon for over 150 students from around the world; a charity auction to benefit the Madison County Red Cross; and over 100 speakers from across the aerospace industry and space advocacy community at the Von Braun Center and Embassy Suites Hotel. I juggled multiple responsibilities in the midst of budget and program uncertainties at NASA as well as a massive tornado outbreak a month before the conference (and one tornado during the conference itself!). The conference itself brought in 857 attendees and earned me an “Above & Beyond” Award from OSAC...all without casualties, unless one counts a temporary loss of sanity. :-)

In addition to the ISDC, I wrote agendas for half a dozen Science Cheerleader events and organized the paperwork of (now) over 100 Science Cheerleaders.

I wrote the first draft of a 59,000-word novel in November as part of National Novel Writing Month.

I survived months of job uncertainty and am currently in a stable berth in NASA's SERVIR program.

I started a second blog.

Oh yeah, and I bought a new car after the previous Bartmobile got a wee bit damaged.

***

So much for business. Am I a happier, better person now, than I was a year ago? Yes. Happier to be free of my ISDC responsibilities. Proud of what the group accomplished. And yes, happy that I can add a very large, successful event to ye olde resume. I learned a lot about myself over the course of the conference process, not all of it pretty.

The primary thing I learned is that I dislike being the guy in charge. I've learned how to better expend my social energies, as I frequently had to do my day job, then go off and do more stuff with other people after work. I learned that it is entirely possible to run a smooth operation so long as I surround myself with people who are able to do things on their own. I lead by allowing others to do their own thing with a minimum of supervision. I learned that I operate best in environments where information is shared openly, and that I get more than a little temperamental when I sense that is not the case.

And after a year of working with a large group on an intense project, my inner introvert has made himself clearly felt. I am learning to restructure my life and my pursuits to ensure that I have the space and time I need to recharge. I'm uncertain how, exactly, introverts find and keep partners in life. I find myself getting crustier about enforcing my personal quiet time and am getting set in my ways. This year marked 20 years since I graduated with my B.A. in English Literature; next year will be 20 years since I started working at Disney's Dixie Landings Resort (now Port Orleans Riverside). Time marches on, and I'm facing the realities of middle age: the need for ongoing exercise, more sensible eating, and political solicitude in the workplace. I'm not quite as brash, loud, or rude as I once was. All to the good.

But as always, I wonder where I go from here. I'm at the point where I've achieved my childhood dreams (including writing a novel!) but have yet to identify the dreams that will carry me forward for the next 40 years. Well, maybe I'll come up with some answers this year. Here's hoping. Farewell, 2011. Let's see what 2012 has to bring.

New Gig

So fresh off the ISDC "win," I've managed to snag a new gig at NASA. For 50% of my time, I will be doing communication work for the SERVIR program. This is a supremely cool job for a variety of reasons: it's a goodwill effort to provide satellite-based weather and Earth observation services to developing nations; I get to write a variety of products, including web stories, brochures, and gosh knows what else; SERVIR is one of the few programs that's growing, funded as it is by both NASA and USAID; it's a complex communication environment because it involves both space hardware and international relations; and quite frankly, it's nice to be working on a program that I believe in. Where do I go from here? We'll see.

Interview: Camilla Sdo

Life is beginning to return to normal, so what could be more natural than for me to conduct an interview with a rubber chicken? No, really...

First, everyone's favorite interview question: tell us about yourself.

Me? I am Camilla Corona SDO - a rubber chicken turned mission mascot for NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory or SDO. I help with the Education and Public Outreach part of our mission! Little SDO is now in his orbit taking these incredible high resolution images of the Sun in many wavelengths. These images are 10x higher resolution than HD TV and really let us take a very close look at the Sun. I met Little SDO at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center many years ago and we established this very special friendship. I call him Little but he is actually the size of a small bus. For a year we have now gotten this amazing data and have already learned a little more about our Sun.

When I am not educating about the Sun and Space Weather, I do try to inspire kids to get more interested in science, engineering and space exploration. And since I want to go and visit Little SDO in Space, I have to go through a lot of training. I really enjoy that part and it allows me to get an inside look into human space flight. And I enjoy sharing my adventures and what I am learning in the process.

Learn about Little SDO here: http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Or follow him on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/NASA.Little.SDO

Who makes your clothes?

One of my goals is to create a community. Little SDO and I want to be as engaging and interactive on social media as possible. That creates a community of people who not only want to learn, but they want to become involved. And I always say, you don't have to be fluent to speak the language. There are many ways people can help and get involved. And so it turns out that I have some amazing friends on social media who make me these amazing outfits. And in the process they get involved. They not only learn about what I do, but they tell their friends and then they get interested. And why not combine art and science? Art is science and there is art in science. And I end up as the best dressed rubber chicken there is!

A rubber chicken isn't the first mascot one might think of when it comes to space weather. How did that come about?

Rubber chickens have been an important part of NASA, dating back to the Apollo days. Back then it was more of a way to let frustration out. There are stories of engineers smashing rubber chickens against the desks. What happened on SDO is that one day I walked down the halls of Goddard Space Flight Center and I saw this shiny spacecraft and it was friendship at first sight. So I was adopted as the mission mascot. Plus, I am yellow like the Sun! (which of course is not really the case since the Sun has no color).

You have quite an interesting travel schedule. What sorts of events do you attend?
I do have a very busy schedule, with not only conducting a lot of training, but I also try to attend several events to connect with the people. I enjoy events with kids because it is really wonderful to see their inspiration and see their way of thinking. And I try to inspire our youth, especially girls, to explore their interest in science, technology, engineering and math. And I try to attend most of our NASA Tweetup events, where selected individuals are invited to get a real inside look into either a Space Shuttle launch, an unmanned mission or a NASA center. These are great opportunities to meet and connect with people. The power of social media is wonderful - it gives somebody like me a voice, a way to reach out.

Several NASA missions now have critters of various sorts supporting or representing their outreach efforts. Do you see this as a trend?

I wasn't the first mission critter but I am the most active for sure. There is a trend. Just very recently Trigger got introduced with NASA's MMS mission. But not only within NASA can we now find mascots. AIAA (American Institute of Aeronautics Astronautics) has Skye Bleu, Bears On Patrol has Fuzz Aldrin. Both of them are part of my mission to the Edge of Space. Then there is my dear friend Spooner with NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program Office. And I cannot forget Luna, NASA Johnson's Space Center's mascot. And Boeing has Casey.

So there is trend and one that makes sense. See, our goal is to get people involved, interested and take the intimidation factor out. Put a "human" face to the missions, the science and people are sometimes more interested and feel more comfortable to ask questions. It's wonderful.

You, Fuzz Aldrin (a teddy bear), and Skye Bleu (a flying pig) went on an actual flight mission. What's all that about? What did you do?

Last year I was contacted by the non-profit organization BearsOnPatrol.org and asked if I was interested in joining forces to promote science education and peace. We decided to plan a mission to the Edge of Space and make it like a real NASA mission. We decided to use a balloon to get us to 100,000 feet, add some cameras, tracking devices and a scientific instrument and use this as a way to not only educate about what is needed for this, but to show how easy it is to reach the Edge of Space. The goal is to get beautiful images of the darkness of Space and see Earth's curve. Also, we want to inspire parents and teachers to do a similar projects with their kids.

After we created the mission patch and named the mission BTS-1 (Balloon Transport System - 1st Flight) the AIAA's mascot Skye Bleu joined us. And again, this is about building a community, educating about the various steps it takes to get a mission of the ground and have fun with it. And just today we had our Pre-Flight Medical exams. Just like real astronauts we went through a series of medical tests.

I am the Commander of the mission and am responsible for the overall mission success. Fuzz Aldrin is the Pilot and has gone through many mission sims in order to get us all back safe. Skye Bleu is our Mission Specialist and will be overseeing all the instruments on board our capsule. Our capsule was just named "Inspiration" - and we hope to just do that!

Does everyone get along?
This is a very diverse crew and I think Fuzz enjoys being a guy between two ladies! We all have our own talents and together we are a very strong team. Just like on a real NASA space mission, it takes getting used to each other. Team work is very important and I trust my crew completely.

Were you nervous about the flight?
I think I was more excited than nervous. There are many things that could go wrong but we must focus on the things that will go right. It is exciting to think about going up that high. It's not a first but it's a first by three mascots.

Now looking back at our BTS-1 mission, I am glad we trained well. Like all astronauts, we did do survival training. We landed much further East than expected and managed to touch down in gator invested swamp land in Louisiana. We were out there for almost 5 days, waiting for rescue. Our ground team did an excellent job in locating us and getting us back home safe.

This was one of the lessons we tried to teach. Sometimes things just go differently during a mission. A team needs to adjust quickly and come up with solutions. Sometimes it's a life and death situation. Look at Apollo 13! A grim situation was turned around by working together and coming up with solutions. That's spaceflight for you! Teamwork. What you don't predict, you cannot prevent.

You mentioned that you're particularly interested in doing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and in getting women interested in STEM careers. That's a mission of ScienceCheerleader.com (one of my other side jobs) as well. What do you do to encourage young women to pursue those careers? What's your primary message?
I think we should think about doing a project together. Like I said - building a community and working together we can achieve so much. Reality is that we need to have more women in STEM. Many times they are intimidated by the subjects or they don't always get the chances they deserve. But it's so important to encourage girls to pursue that career and show them that really not even the Sky is the limit.

Darlene Cavalier, the original Science Cheerleader, does interviews with pro cheerleaders, and she asks each of them if they're taken seriously because society has certain stereotypes or perceptions about cheerleaders. You're in a similar situation, as rubber chickens are traditionally seen in a comic relief role. Do you ever worry that people won't take you seriously as an advocate for STEM? How do you counteract that?
Of course there are always people who see me as just a rubber chicken. I see that as a positive challenge. Look, I have managed to train with the very last Space Shuttle crew, the STS-135 crew. I have spent time with the NASA Administrator and we talked about public outreach. I have managed to get stuck on the Space Potty thanks to Astronaut Clay Anderson. If I can achieve all of this, I should be taken seriously. And if a girl shows interest in math or science, that girl should immediately have the respect and support.

I understand you're friends with my author friend Kate Doolan, who described you as a "classy chick." What are your interactions with her like?

Bart, the social media tools have enabled me to connect and interact with a wide variety of people. I met Kate a long time ago and I see her as one of my most special friends. I love her humor and I really admire her Apollo days knowledge. While we joke around often, we both admire each other and I have learned a lot from her. I hope she can say the same.

But the beauty is that I can connect with so many wonderful people. And I get a chance to learn and listen to what they think.

Anything else you'd care to share?
Here is the truth: we have one Space Shuttle launch left to go. After that we will not be launching humans from the US for some time. But that does not mean space exploration is dead. The ISS (International Space Station) continues to host astronauts. They will continue to do science up there and we will continue to learn about our solar system and our universe. Some amazing unmanned missions are coming up, like Juno. Juno will help us learn more about Jupiter. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

MAVEN and MSL will both give us more clues about Mars and its atmosphere.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/maven/main/index.html

Get interested, get engaged, have fun with what we do. Reality is, we don't know much and have lots of stuff to learn.

If you want to learn more about me or follow my adventures:

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/swx/

www.facebook.com/CamillaSDO

www.twitter.com/Camilla_SDO

http://camilla-corona-sdo.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Potpourri CLVIII


Tomorrow's my first day off (from the day job) since last Sunday. I know, I know, be happy you have a job...but jeez, since when is a proposal enough of an "emergency" to miss Da Bears in a championship game against the Packers? Sigh...just whining, don't mind me. There's still lots of interesting stuff going on out there in Cyberland, so I might as well share what bits of junk--er, important and interesting information, that is--I've found in my electronic travels. Enjoy if or as you see fit.

Starting from the top of the pile (most recent), and unfortunately it's a bummer: another warning from Norm Augustine that America is falling behind and in trouble in science and technology. I suppose we need a fire lit under us occasionally to get us moving; still, it'd be nice if Norm would offer more suggestions and fewer warnings, ya know?

From the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE), a little humorous lesson on "things not to do."

My buddy Dar sat for a good interview on the origins of Science Cheerleader. Dar picked on her posture, I was ready to pick on the interviewer: for gosh sakes, if you're interested in your subject, put some effort into showing it! And if you're not interested in your subject, work doubly hard--or change your line of work. Or something. The interview is good from a content standpoint, as I learned a little bit more of the background to this epic I've signed up to do paperwork for, but sheesh, that interviewer could stand to learn a few things.

From Father Dan: a video about...Lala the Penguin? Yep. Also, an elderly married couple who've still "got it."

Here's something else that made me smile, though inexplicably: Sad Star Trek.

From Lin:

• A toy for...um, whoever feels like riding a unicycle but doesn't want to put in the work?
• An article on how more students are attending college, but fewer are seeing a benefit from it. The author suggests a couple of reasons for the hows and whys, most of which will probably annoy educators. But really: I had to go to grad school to get the credentials to convince employers that an English major could work in technical fields like defense or aerospace. A B.A. in English degree and a dozen years in the hospitality biz weren't going to do it: I had to prove myself by spending a serious sum. I did learn useful things, but I was essentially still the same person. Was the degree really NEEDED to work where I am now? Silly question now, as here I am. But I can't help wonder if there were other choices I could have made that might not have cost as much.

A blog by someone who didn't last very long as a food critic. A pity, really, but the writing is hilarioius.

Some of the usual back-and-forth continues in Chicago, as airlines that stand to benefit (in the long run) from an expansion at O'Hare International Airport are suing the city because they're trying to start funding and building NOW, when the economy sucks and no one's got any money. Bottom line? My guess: all the expenses, from construction to legal fees, will end up being paid in large part by those of us foolish or unlucky enough to have to travel through ORD.

I've probably posted this before, but it's still cool: a TED talk translated into a cartoon; this one is on where ideas come from.

From Martin, this is reportedly a good site on space exploration. Gotta confess, I haven't found time to visit it yet. There was a time when I did stuff for fun, not because it was my job or some sort of compulsion.

A rabbi on Sarah Palin and “blood libel.”

From Dar, a suggested method of clearing the system. Hm. Sounds like a science project...not something I'm going to try while I'm in the middle of running a conference.

From BoingBoing.net, Engadget, and other places:

• The life of a “missileer” in the ICBM trenches.
• Don’t count out the F-15 Eagle quite yet.
• Alternate universe movie posters? Why not? 
• A blog on how the states of California and Texas might deal with a coyote problem.
• What does it take to make a planet habitable? This site from JPL offers some interesting food for thought.
• Been awhile since I read Fred on Everything, but he has some thought-provoking prose here on how Americans spend.

This T-shirt crystallizes my thoughts on 2010 rather well:

From my NASA PAO feed: a story that the Fermi Space Telescope has detected antimatter over thunderstorms on Earth. And you wonder why you should be careful around lightning? SHAZAAAAM!!

On the NASA front, there are more layoffs coming, but you have to dig about three paragraphs into this story to learn that...and really, who has time to do that anymore?

So this TSA agent got convicted of planting some sort of malware into the administration's computer system. No telling what the malware DID or WILL DO, however...

My grandparents were Depression-era people, and they still advised me to buy stocks because they believed in the long-term growth of the United States. Younger folks’ pessimism is foolish, short-term and long-term because “buy low, sell high” has been an investment rule since stocks were first sold. And, again thinking long-term, you don't get a prosperous society by depending on the government to "create" prosperity. You get long-term prosperity when the government gets out of the way well enough that private individuals and companies can start enterprises that make a profit and create jobs. Do they teach that anymore?

Avoiding writer’s block by stopping while you’re ahead.Something fun for a change to end this segment: Disney short subject on musical instruments. This is actually really cool.


A skull made out of McDonald’s fries. Why?

Confessions of a Walt Disney World cast member (not me, I hasten to add: I wouldn't be stupid enough to say this sort of stuff on the internet).

A friend found a shirt that conveys my mixed duties at Science Cheerleader: half gofer (gopher), half ninja.


Peace and happy thoughts, y'all.

Potpourri CLIV

The blog inbox has gotten seriously out of control, but I'll slog away as best I can. Enjoy my scattershot reading as you see fit.

First up, something from Mom: a site showing 360-degree pictures of the summit of Mount St. Helen's. Note that in the later pictures, MSN is smoking a wee bit more...

Next, something from Father Dan: a multipurpose "clock" of various statistics. A bit sobering, but interesting to watch.

From Lin:

• This story is old, but it amused me. Apple tech guru Steve Jobs reportedly got pulled over by Japanese security personnel from smuggling shuriken (ninja throwing stars) aboard his private jet. That'll teach him.
• Castro tried to retract this statement, but the word already got out there, perhaps via old age, perhaps via Freudian slip: an admission that communism doesn't work.

From Kate Down Under:

• Australians are developing a beer for space. Huzzah!
• A Battle of Midway Roundtable site. The Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway were the first naval battles in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and were of great concern to Australia--if the U.S. had lost, Oz stood a good chance of being invaded by Japan. I once met a veteran from the U.S.S. Lexington, which was sunk at Coral Sea. He had just returned from Australia, where he was given a hero's welcome. Some folks still remember.

From Tracy: 

• A report on commercial space activities.
• NASA's video recruitment YouTube site. The video seems a little long to me, but maybe I just have a short attention span.

Just found this through random surfing: a story about one case where a Muslim woman got more legal protections under sharia law than she could get under the U.S. domestic court system.

Started reading this one, but haven't finished it yet: a Dinesh D'Souza editorial on how Obama approaches economic policy.

Not sure what to make of this: in case of an emergency, ladies, you might want to remove your bra.

Here's an interesting site: an online source for elementary school-level lectures.

In addition to the Dynetics-led team I wrote about awhile back, there is another Huntsville-based team vying for the Google Lunar X Prize.

Caveat visor (fake Bartish Latin for "reader beware"): I haven't read all of this yet, but it's an open letter to Christian leaders on the potential impact of theology on "transhumanism."

This guy reportedly operated alone, but tried to plant a bomb half a block from Wrigley Field. This sort of thing makes my hair stand on end.

Science fiction writer Joe Haldeman has some interesting things to say about "unplugging" in order to do creative writing.

This is a form of technical writing humor to the extent that "humor" equals "terrifyingly bad technical jargon getting in the way of clear communication."

I probably addressed this before, but wanted to add a couple of other comments. This interview with SF writer Kim Stanley Robinson is part of why I've been working with Darlene the Science Cheerleader, who seeks to increase public involvement in the sciences. Robinson, whose Mars trilogy I admire, nevertheless is a dedicated socialist utopian with no serious understanding of how economics works, as this interview makes clear. There are alternative views to how science can be enacted in society, and they are not all leftist. He glosses over so much evil that has been done by communist elites with “science” on their side that it’s truly terrifying. The point I would make to rebut KSR's points is simply that science is a method of understanding the physical world--it is not and should not be--a means of ordering society or concentrating political power. In fact, the more people who have scientific and technical knowledge, the less likely it is that some scientific elite will be able to force their ideas upon the populace.

Speaking of Darlene and citizen science, some amateur astronomers observed objects impacting with Jupiter.
 
And, because I've forgotten why I've cared or I just got tired of looking at them, I've deleted a whole bunch of links for your sanity and mine. Have a pleasant evening.

Survivor--Huntsville Edition

Premise: Space advocates must hold onto their jobs, relationships, and collective sanity during a period of policy shifts, budget battles, media maneuvers, layoffs, outside activities, and personal crises.

So when we last left Your Humble Narrator, he was waiting out his 90-day extension with the Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication while trying to figure out what to do with his future. Well, as during the crisis in June, more money was found two days before the deadline, and I will continue to find myself employed after many others have been let go. I've been told I'm good through the end of October, with additional work TBD (another marvelous NASA acronym that means "to be determined," which I pronounce "tuh-Buh-DUH!").

I will not complain about the treatment I've received by my immediate employers or the management of Center. They've done their best under very difficult circumstances and, in my case, managed to keep me off the unemployment rolls and on the taxpayer side of $0 for four months longer than I probably had reason to expect. But this whole thing is mentally and emotionally draining. I have worked for a variety of employers, and the last two years here have been the most uncertain time I've ever experienced. Doc tells me this is normal, and that the relative calm we enjoyed 2006-2008 was anomalous in his experience. So one of several things could happen in a month:

• I continue to kick arse on my job (which I still like to do, gripes about instability nothwithstanding) and someone finds enough money to keep me on staff.
• Budgetary constraints prevent my customers, however happy with my work, from keeping me on--leading to another round of scrambling by me or my employer to find me work.
• A Miracle Happens and I find some sort of stable employment (no imminent threat of termination within a year) within the agency or not that keeps me fed and my bills paid through ISDC next May.

Is it a reality show or is it a soap opera...or do I repeat myself? In any case, the uncertainty continues, but I can still show up for work and draw a paycheck tomorrow, for which I am duly grateful. A big chunk of that good fortune was not due to anything I did.

Book Review: Code to Zero



I don't read fiction much anymore--too busy filling my head with nonfiction, I guess--but when it's a book about space and even my non-space-fan mother is willing to read it, I figured I'll give it a whirl. I'm glad I did. Ken Follett's Code to Zero is a brisk espionage thriller set in 1958, just prior to the launch of America's first satellite, Explorer I.

The story centers around Claude Lucas ("Luke"), an aerospace engineer who has lost his memory and has to figure out the how and why of it. It's rather like a Robert Ludlum story, and the author does a good job of mixing the personal and "professional" aspects of the story to draw in the reader. In fact, the reader will find more than a nod to The Bourne Identity, which also featured a protagonist lacking his memory but not instinctive knowledge of some difficult or dangerous skills.






Swirling around "Luke" are a CIA agent of dubious motives, an estranged wife, a contentious former friend from his college days, and an old flame he left behind. The narrative bounces back and forth between Luke's past history with these old acquaintances in the early 1940s and 1950s and the main storyline in 1958. The reader is clued in that Luke's story has something to do with Explorer I, as each 1958 chapter opens with a brief factual blurb about the rocket or the satellite. The blurbs read a bit like some of the public information I've written for NASA, so I recognized the content, if not the style.

The author makes some effort to get the "feel" of his time right; this comes across most obviously in how people dress (hats on men, skirts on women), get around (cars, trains, and multi-stop airplanes), and communicate (land-line telephones only). The action centers around Washington, DC, Huntsville, Alabama, and Cape Canaveral, Florida--then as now major centers of space-related activities. I didn't catch any glaring errors in the author's depction of 1958 Huntsville, and noted with interest that he had consulted with the late Ernst Stuhlinger in his research (the book was written in 2000). Otherwise, Follett devotes most of his prose toward delving into the characters and their actions.

If I have any gripes with the book, they are with regard to Follett's incorporation of a few too many Dickensian coincidences. Our hero has a problem with his memory? Make his old flame a psychologist. He hasn't seen many of his old friends in years? No sweat--he's wandering the streets of the city where they happen to live and work. There are others, but far be it for me to spoil too much. The author (and the main character) gets the job done, and the end of the story satisfies, which I can't say about everything I read these days, so that that much is right with the world.

If you're looking for a decent suspense novel without an overt amount of sex, violence, or language, give Code to Zero a read. You'll consider the time well spent

Interview: Meg Tuma, Scientist and Mentor


In the course of doing my job, I frequently get to work with a lot of very smart people, among them Margaret L. (Meg) Tuma, Ph.D., one of the engineers ("rocket scientists") at Marshall Space Flight Center.


What do you do at Marshall Space Flight Center?
I’m the project lead for the Ares I Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test. That’s a mouthful – and means I’m responsible for the modal test on the new Ares rocket. We need to understand the natural frequencies and damping of the Ares V vehicle in order to adequately control the vehicle during ascent and flight. My responsibilities include getting the test rocket hardware from each of the rocket component elements (First Stage, Upper Stage, Upper Stage Engine, and Orion), coordinating transportation to MSFC and the Test Stand, getting the Test Stand (4550) ready for testing, the hydrodynamic stands (ie big shock absorbers), stacking the hardware, conducting the test, and disassembling the vehicle.




What degrees do you have? B.S. Physics, M.S. Physics, Ph.D. Electrical Engineering
Did you pursue these degrees with space in mind? Always in the back of my mind, but not my ultimate goal. I really didn’t think I had a chance to work at NASA, so when I got the opportunity, I jumped on it!


When did you know you wanted to work in a scientific or technical field?
In high school. I always liked math and science and in high school was challenged in physics and calculus and realized that’s what I wanted to pursue in college.


How did you make the switch from research to management?
I was in the NASA Professional Development program in 2000-2001. During that year, I worked at JPL, a University, and HQ. These experiences broadened my horizons and made me realize my talents would be put to better use if I shifted from research into project management. It was a fairly smooth transition. Although, I miss research from time to time. I still work on one of my inventions in my “spare” time. It’s a miniature light bulb (aka a “light bulb on a chip”) that can be used as a calibration source for spectrometers on satellites or remote terrestrial applications.



What's the biggest difference between science and engineering?
Engineering is much more applied. Science is a broader field trying to understand nature at its core (forces, electricity, etc.) Engineering takes science and applies it to make things work.



What advice would you give to young women interested in pursuing STEM careers?
Study study study! In groups if you can find a good study group. Take an internship or summer job in the field you are pursuing to “test drive” it. It’s much easier to change a major to match the career you’re interested in. Get a mentor. This is really important. There are several mentoring programs. One is MentorNet – an online mentoring program.



You participate in a mentoring program through the University of Akron. What can you tell me about that experience?
It’s wonderful! Each year I’m paired with one or more students and meet with them in person monthly usually at a social event (bowling, touring a museum, etc) and via email on a weekly basis. In fact, I’m still in contact with students I mentored 10 years ago! I was able to help them with class choices, provide career advice, and just listen to their problems when they needed to talk. I like helping others so I find it very fulfilling. I’m also a charter member of MentorNet – an online mentoring program where I’m paired with a graduate student in the US and we communicate via email a few times a month. My current mentee is in California and had a side project working on research for microwave popcorn. It was very interesting. I’m also involved in the “Adopt-A-Physicist” program. Twice a year I get paired with 2 or more high school classes from across the US and communicate via email. They ask lots of questions! Like, what made me decide to go into my current career, my favorite class, most interesting work experience, toughest work experience, etc. I was mentoring 3 classes during the Ares I-X launch, and they were tracking the progress and stopped their school work to watch the launch. It was neat to share that excitement with so many young students.



In addition to technical knowledge, what skills have you found the most valuable in your career?
People skills! It is so important to understand how to manage a team and understand your team’s personal dynamics.



What's been the coolest moment in your career so far?
Ares I-X launch. Followed by aero flight tests. And riding in the vomit comet.


Where do you go from here?
The moon! Still trying to be an astronaut. Hopefully we’ll have a replacement vehicle for the shuttle to take us there.

Potpourri CXLIII

I know, I know, I really should be outside getting some exercise in the fresh air, but it's my day off, so I'm spending it in whatever lazy fashion suits me best: in my case, blogging, hitting golf balls, and having a couple of brewskis. You enjoy the holiday your way, I'll do it mine.

While I am no longer working for Constellation/Ares, my cube is still located where the Ares Projects are based. And yes, I still care about the fate of the project. It now appears that Congress is punting on passing the federal budget on time or putting any money behind their complaints about how the Administration is treating NASA. So the program--what's left of it--will be in zombie mode until someone attaches the electrodes and gives it new life or it's put down like the wounded pet that it is. Oy.

From Doc:

• A little caffeineated humor. Need a t-shirt that expresses your mental state? Try this.
• And why? Because a story on NPR indicated that caffeine might, in fact, be good for you.

Oh yeah, and speaking of the Constellation Program, the Obama administration has released a new space policy. I have thoughts, but will be judicious about posting them.

• Observation #1: Human space exploration is not listed in the top-line summary of priorities.
• Observation #2: While there's an emphasis on "space nuclear power," that could any number of things: nuclear-powered batteries (what we use on Cassini/Galileo now); space-based nuclear reactors for powering ion drives or other flavors of propulsion that result in radioactive by-products in space; or it could mean starting up a NERVA or Orion type of vehicle, which would actually use nuclear explosions to accelerate spacecraft. We'll have to wait and see.
• General comment: In theory, international cooperation is a good thing, and gosh knows the previous administration (President and NASA) did not go out of their way to push for it in space. However, there are always challenges when you deal with international partners. For example, what if we stop getting along with a major partner (e.g. Russia) over some unrelated political/military fracas? If Russia provides critical components for the mission, would the mission be stopped by diplomatic problems? And then there's our nation's oh-so-fabulous export control laws, which in theory prevent people who don't like us from getting hold of our sensitive technology, but in reality can prevent international teams from working with us because we can't allow them to see how our technologies work, or vice versa. Hopefully the administration will at least fix ITAR before putting international partners on the "critical path" for any future missions (i.e., making their participation essential for success).

Need your business cards refurbished/redesigned? Check out this site.

A variety of things I found through random surfing:

• Shushing sonic booms: http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/supersonic-concept-plane-shush-sonic-booms-100630.html
• First photo of an extrasolar planet: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/first-alien-planet-photographed-confirmed-100629.html
• An astronaut says there's no time for sex in space: http://www.space.com/news/no-sex-in-space-astronaut-says-100629.html
• Nebula photo: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/06/blue-nebula/
• New look and origin to Wonder Woman: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/06/a-new-wonder-woman/
• Teaching military history in times of war: http://chronicle.com/article/Teaching-Military-History-in-a/66023/
• Review: The Icarus Syndrome http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/06/28/100628crbo_books_packer?currentPage=all
• Why not socialism? http://reviewcanada.ca/reviews/2010/06/01/the-thinking-man-s-marxist/
• A different view of appeasement: http://www.nationalinterest.org/Article.aspx?id=23542
• Legislation and the gender gap: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/15tier.html
• Charlie Sheen vs. Emilio Estevez: What’s the difference? http://www.mentalfloss.com/difference/charlie-sheen-vs-emilio-estevez/

Are you really into seeing science stuff? Would you like a trip to Sweden? Check this out.

If you're a big fan of living on the Moon, you might enjoy the Moon Miners' Manifesto, the newsletter of the Moon Society. I don't want to live on the Moon, personally. I like Earth. But I wouldn't mind staying at a hotel on the Moon, say with a nice view of the Earth...

From D2: a graphic designer gets a little snarky with a friend who wanted him to do something they bloody well could have done themselves. I've tried things like this, but it usually damages friendships.

Got this through my space-geek sources:

More on the Times pay wall: http://au.biz.yahoo.com/100702/31/2e1qz.html  Did you know there are only two Space Shuttle missions left? Mark your calendars: November 1 and February 26. We'll miss human spaceflight when it's gone...

Space Studies Institute Space Manufacturing 14: Critical Technologies for Space Settlement at NASA Ames Conference Center October 30-31, 2010!



Thirty five years ago, NASA Ames Research Center was the site of the first large technical study of space settlement. We have made significant progress since then, but with the prospect of low cost space transportation in the near future, now is the time to reinvigorate research and collaboration on the critical path technologies needed for space industrialization and settlement. The 14th Space Studies Institute conference on Space Manufacturing continues in the spirit of the Princeton Conferences initiated by Prof. Gerard K O’Neill in 1974.


The Space Manufacturing and Space Settlement Conferences have always given SSI attendees great value. This conference is the only one solely concerned with the science and engineering of humanity’s expansion into the solar system. Its most important function is to bring together the engineers, entrepreneurs and researchers who do the real work. New space companies and new institutions have formed from collaborations forged at earlier conferences. We hope that this and future annual SSI conferences will be as fruitful.


The specific purpose of Space Manufacturing 14 is to identify and recommend critical hardware research that can be conducted now by SSI, NASA and other organizations.


Registration opens July 7, 2010


*Registration is $250 for a full two day conference (Saturday October 30 & Sunday October 31), which includes a catered lunch for both days and a Friday night Wine Reception.
*Saturday, October 30th, Buffet dinner $35
*Our Official Hotel for this event is the lovely Sheraton Sunnyvale. Exclusive to SSI attendees, a special rate of $89 per night includes an exclusive Shuttle pickup and drop off between San Jose Airport and the Hotel (until 9pm on Friday, October 29, Saturday, Sunday and Monday), transportation to and from the NASA Ames conference center...plus free High Speed Internet in each SSI guest's room.

For history buffs, a time-lapse animation of Middle Eastern empires: http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

This sounds interesting: someone is developing a crowdsourced documentary: http://www.onedayonearth.org/

An online introduction to Einstein’s thought: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FE3074A4CB751B2B

Using “cognitive surplus” to change the world? http://www.openculture.com/2010/06/clay_shirky_how_cognitive_surplus_will_change_the_world.html


 
Like me, my buddy Martin luckily got moved off of Ares and onto other duties, including speech writing for executives at Marshall Space Flight Center. I suggested the following books/links to help him "think like an executive." Or something. Here to help...
 

Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History: http://www.amazon.com/Lend-Me-Your-Ears-Speeches/dp/0393059316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278081799&sr=8-1

Bartlett’s Quotations: http://www.bartleby.com/

The Complete Works of Shakespeare: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

Not sure civil servants are allowed to quote the Bible anymore, but what the heck: http://www.blueletterbible.org/

This site is useful for finding random “stuff” out on that-thar interwebs thingy: http://boingboing.net/

Also, if you want to absorb the zeitgeist of the early 21st century (and understand what sorts of books that managers/leaders read), consider the following:


Outliers (Basic theme: there are other things that account for success than money, luck, and hard work. Stupid.) http://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017922/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082187&sr=8-1

The Wisdom of Crowds: http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Crowds-James-Surowiecki/dp/0385721706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082257&sr=1-1

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: http://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Improbable-Robustness-Fragility/dp/081297381X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082272&sr=1-1

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything: http://www.amazon.com/Freakonomics-Economist-Explores-Hidden-Everything/dp/0060731338/ref=pd_sim_b_12

The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century: http://www.amazon.com/World-Flat-Updated-Expanded-Twenty-first/dp/B002N2XI02/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082396&sr=1-4

The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less: http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005696/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082577&sr=1-1

Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results:
http://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Boost-Morale-Improve-Results/dp/0786866020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082506&sr=1-1

Servant Leadership: A Journey Into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness
http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Leadership-Legitimate-Greatness-Anniversary/dp/0809105543/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278082603&sr=1-1. (Okay, most leaders are NOT reading this one...but more of them should. A great recommendation I got from D2!)

 
Apps, apps, and more apps...I got a little spooked today trying the "Shazam" app on my iPhone for the first time. The gag is, you turn it on, put the iPhone up close to the radio, or even sing a few bars of a song, and it will identify the song's title and artist. That's just creepy. Oh, and speaking of apps, the U.S. Government is now getting in on the act, as reported by my buddy Dar.
More on Constellation: job losses are now estimated at around 5,000 people nationwide. Boo.

John Logdson is apparently a mentor of the folks who created the current space policy. Here are some of this thoughts here.

From my buddy Melissa, a short movie on teamwork.

From Anika, for Star Wars and Joss Whedon fans: a "Joss Whedon is my master now" t-shirt.

From Lin: News coverage of the oil spill is now being regulated.

And lastly, steampunk is making a bit of a comeback, in a variety of formats, including computer keyboards and apparel. For those unfamiliar with steampunk, I recommend reading The Difference Engine by Bruce Sterling and William Gibson. It's an alternate history science fiction story in which Charles Babbage got his mechanical computer ("difference engine") to work in the Victorian Era, thereby extending the Victorian aesthetics into the future.