Happy Valentine's Day



If anyone needs a garage band name, I'm offering up "Angry Cookies" as a free idea. Sometimes I'm good like that. As with my anti-romance novel idea, the snark is offered purely in the spirit of humor, not vicious, bitter anger. Trust me, you'll know when I'm upset or angry--I won't say a damned thing--in which case I'll highly recommend you leave me alone. That said, I'll be wearing my Disney smile tomorrow because living happily is the best revenge on those who pity you for being single.

V-Day

The Deastroyer sets just the right tone today. She's posted a check-box form for Valentine's Day. Gets the point across, albeit not with a great deal of romance, but then I've been conjuring up a little anti-romance myself lately. To wit...

Against the spirit of Harlequin Romances, NutJob Enterprises presents Pagliacci Anti-Romances, stories for the single and snarky. Even if you've never read a romance, you can get the gist from the blurbs on the back cover: woman meets intriguing man, man irritates woman or they endure a series of crises together, woman captures man or man falls for woman, and everyone lives happily ever after. Quite frankly, we at NutJob Enterprises think this plotline has been done to death. We also hope to counter the unrealistic expectations set up by overblown plots and boy-men cover images (Fabio, et al.), which insist that all worthwhile men have '80s band hair and six-pack abs. The message of all these stories is, "True love could happen to you, too!"


So here's our notion: The happiest RELATIONSHIP moments in the book are at the beginning. Thereafter, we watch the couple fall apart through a series of emotional scenes in which the lead character (man or woman, we don't discriminate) finds him/herself increasingly dissatisfied with love due to a partner's evil, insensitivity, cheating, etc., and by the end finally ESCAPES the long-haired dude (or gorgeous brunette). Our hero(ine) then goes on to find true happiness running their own business in another country somewhere after changing their name and going into witness protection. Our message? "It could always be worse!"

We feel the anti-romance is a concept whose time has come. For the single, longing, and forlorn, it will make them realize that being single has its advantages. For the married or unhappily attached, Pagliacci Books can provide comparative solace, as the readers think, "Well, thank goodness I don't have THAT jerk as a significant other!" We are seeking authors now. We don't mind if you draw from experience, but please have the courtesy and legal savvy to change names, places, and circumstances where appropriate.

And remember: we're doing this for YOU!

Now what amuses me is that everyone who's read the above thought it was a legitimate ad. Either people are that gullible or I didn't lay on the sarcasm thickly enough. I'll try harder next time.

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 CLVII

Good evening to clean house--my domicile, the inbox, etc.--so let's proceed.

From Jim: a little sarcasm on Amazon.com.

From Father Dan: the beer commercial as art.

From Lin, a story that will raise a lot of noise if it comes to pass: House Republicans are looking to eliminate the law that makes any child born here automatically a citizen, thereby giving its parents a legitimate claim to American social services and the like even if they came here illegally. This will probably be denounced by saying, "Republicans have a vested interest in keeping certain people out of the country!" Okay, that's one argument. But what's the vested interest of those who say it's okay for people to enter the country illegally? My ancestors didn't.

Here are some items I found in my internet "travels":
--A ponderable double standard: Julian Assange planned to sue the Guardian for (wait for it)…leaking information.
--A topic that gets batted around my office occasionally: "open-source" space mission design. My argument against this remains that even if you could design a launch vehicle or spacecraft online collaboratively using "the wisdom (or stupidity) of crowds," you still need a large, centralized factory to build the friggin' things. Boeing is learning the hard truth of trying to subcontract out a lot of piece-parts worldwide on its 787 Dreamliner, which is that if you depend on someone overseas, politics and economics make it inevitable that some other nation could hold your production process hostage. Anyhow, good luck to the open-source guys. They also might run into ITAR issues and the like if someone creates a widget related to guidance or propulsion.
--Table manners, Indiana Jones style.
--Anger management, Star Trek style.
--How to become a millionaire in three years. (Caveat, reader: no promises on this.)
--Why iPad is not a "Kindle killer."
--A steampunk Mr. Potato Head? Why not?
--And while we're at it, how about some steampunk Star Trek photographs?
--The U.S. Navy has a new gun in testing, and you really don't want to get hit by this one.
--This takes awhile, but I found some of it pretty good: actor/comedian Stephen Fry on things he wished he'd learned when he was 18.
--During the last blizzard to hit New York City, there were some allegations of purposeful work slowdowns by unions on things like trash removal.
--Here's a nutty aesthetic: making pictures of Muppets with human eyes. Gotta ask: why?
--From SciCheer video maker Randy Olson, a thought-provoking blog on how environmentalism and, indeed, most of science has "gone Hollywood." I would submit that NASA is one of the few organizations that has not gone Hollywood. If it had, we'd have a lot more money and media excitement...aside from the occasional scandals.
--Here's a new way to track the popularity of ideas across time: the memeogram.
--A couple of videos on the original concept and actual making of my favorite theme park, Epcot: here and here.
--A little light reading on the CIA and hypnotism.
--Robot solves Rubik’s Cube in ~15 seconds

--Shaquille O’Neal conducts the Boston Pops. Again, why?
--What makes music sad? It's not as simple as you think.
--Paul Kennedy says the U.S. is losing its dominance, but that’s normal, expected, and okay.
--Now this is useful: how an Etch-A-Sketch works.
--The Isle of Tune. Just check it out. Really.
--An extended essay on the state of the State of California by Victor Davis Hanson. Not for the faint of heart.

China is cutting the amount of “rare earth elements” it exports to the U.S. needed for high-tech products. In a more rational economy, we would be stockpiling these types of materials. This also would be an excellent opportunity for American entrepreneurs to develop techniques that do not require said elements. Regardless of wishful thinking about the assumed benefits of one world economy or the (claimed) gentling effects of trade on rival nation-states, we must remember Lord Palmerston’s dictum that nations “have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests.”


A pilot was suspended, harassed, and disarmed for pointing out flaws in TSA’s security.


A Greek Antikythera device, as built out of Legos. No, really.
Obviously it's been quite awhile since I cleared out my archives. Nevertheless, this depiction of a "digital Christmas" amused me.

From the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE):

• A new site helping users get a grip on the micro- and macroscopic views of the universe. (Hint: this won't help.)
• A new word-of-the-day site.

Speaking of the DUDE, he's made a good case for me to fly down to his hemisphere for holiday rather than blow a ton of money in some pricey place stateside. If his wife and he are willing to put up with me for a week and cart me around everywhere, I just might end up paying for not much more than an airplane ticket and miscellaneous expenses. Worth considering. There are some pretty places Down Yonder.
 
This is why I say that I have a photogenic memory: I remember things told to me by cute people.

I was going to write all sorts of profound things in response to this article, but I'm getting lazy in my old age. It does offer an interesting perspective on what happens to a culture when it cannot tell the difference between illusion and reality, though. The reading I leave to you.
 

From Melissa: another news story on how Aspartame is going to kill me eventually. Fine. But I really, really like Diet Dr. Pepper, and I haven't found a beverage that is comparable in the taste/low-calorie/non-allergenic zone yet.

From Michelle: a little late for the season, but why not a gingerbread Serenity?

From Gwen: "What Control has become, or what I like to call Big Brother."

And I suppose that will do for now. Archives and loose items now cleared back to mid-December. My apologies for allowing the potpourri to get stale.

Potpourri CLVI

Doing a little electronic housekeeping today. Let's just reach our hands into the bucket and see what sort of scary stuff comes out of it, shall we?

First, a little mayhem and humor courtesy of Allstate (via The Deastroyer).

I like these. I shouldn’t, but I do: Killhouettes.


This past week aviation buffs celebrated the 107th year of powered flight by the Wright Brothers. Others, more impressed with mass transportation, celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Douglas DC-3.


Bored? Have some skill with electronics? You, too, can program your Christmas lights to indicate when you have incoming messages.
 
Know a geek you'd like to overspend on this Christmas? Consider one of these gifts.
 
For reasons that elude me, Liberty University decided to put together a choral version of Antoine Dodson's "Hide the wife, hide the kids" rant. Maybe they'll take on the Double Rainbow guy next?
 
Ever felt the urge to drop an asteroid on the planet and see the results? Well, now's your chance. Purdue University has a site made just for you.
 
More YouTube goodness from Father Dan:

• Silent Monks "sing" the Hallelujah Chorus.
• A six-minute video about unbelievable courage and persistence in battle: "Tango Mike Mike." Absolutely worth watching.

From Charlie: a guy who watched Ocean's 11 and learned all the wrong lessons.
 
Awhile ago I tried to explain why it's impossible to calculate the odds of one's employment continuing at NASA. An email I received this morning sort of crystallizes the matter nicely:

Congress has passed a continuing resolution through 12/21 and the President is expected to sign today. We have been advised by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer at NASA Headquarters that all ongoing NASA operations should continue at least through 12/21/10. Additional information will be provided as subsequent funding actions are enacted.

Basically NASA, like the rest of the federal government, is subject to the political debates and whims of elected officials in Washington...which, at present, consists of the lame-duck Democrat-controlled Congress trying to push through as much stuff as they can before the next, Republican-controlled session can take place. New laws are apparently more important than passing the budget, so the budget gets passed in days-at-a-time increments. If the lame-duck Congress can't come to any sort of agreement on what to do with the rest of Fiscal Year 2011 after December 21, the government will "shut down," meaning nonessential personnel like me will be kept at home on furlough until a more complete budget IS passed. Wacky times.

And since it's that season, here's an Irish version of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Here's something interesting...a demographic map of darn near every city in America.

I mentioned the Make A Wish Foundation a few days ago. If you've got some serious spare change, you can buy a Stormtrooper helmet autographed by various Star Wars cast members, with the money going to M.A.W.F. No, really.

In my continuing series of gastronomical challenges, I'm including this link from Yohon on the "worst foods in America."

Jerry Pournelle has had some very thought-provoking essays lately on the recent debates re: renewing the Bush-era tax cuts. He manages to get beyond the rhetoric and consider what sort of society we really want...and what we want the economy to do. Any decision has consequences. Let the tax cuts expire and you make a bad economy that much worse by taking money that belongs to productive citizens and giving it to government. Soak the rich (however you define them), and eventually those folks will either run out of money or take what resources they have and LEAVE the country. Pournelle has other thoughts that, again, are worth thinking about.

I saw these in my internet "travels":

• A Victorian book on how to write fiction, and the then-perceived problems thereof.
• The U.S. Navy has a new gun--and you really don't want to get hit by this one.
• Cold weather isn’t good for electric cars, either.
• Holiday greetings from Jabba the Hutt.
• Googling America…look up a state on Google, and here’s what comes up. Funny!
• C-3PO and R2-D2 swimsuits. Um. Wow?
• While BoingBoing.net finds this letter "thin-skinned," after awhile, you've got to say enough is enough and get the prankster's attention. "Not just no, but heck no!" obviously didn't do it.

From Tracy:

• National Geographic released images of the top most unusual animals discovered in 2010. Some are goofy-lookin', others gross, one or two fascinating. The discovery of these creatures begs the question: how do we "know" how many species exist or have really gone extinct on our planet if new beasties keep creeping up (so to speak)?
• An NPR story about Neil Armstrong and why we should go to the Moon.

From Lin: a two-part article on the role of males in a post-industrial society. I'll read the whole thing eventually, I promise.

 

Potpourri CLV

It's been awhile since I've done one of these, but I thought I'd take a few free minutes to clear out the blog pile, as Sunday Night Football isn't wowing me this evening.

First off: the 50 fattiest foods in America. And for dessert, cupcakes.

On the more serious side, Lin sent the following speech on the state of free speech in Europe.

With the tools of CGI becoming more and more widespread, it is possible for amateurs to create some pretty decent Star Trek movies. I can't vouch for all of the acting.

I need to investigate/discuss this further, but here's a blog in defense of a liberal arts education. This is worth considering, even when everyone in my circle of fellow bloggers is spun up about the state of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. There IS still a place for English majors, after all...

From Stefanie, a little programming humor(?): Prolog haiku.

This is old (2002), but still worth reading: Penn Gillette on getting groped by the TSA. Along the same lines, here's a worthwhile editorial by Salon Magazine on airport security.

I never get tired of these: random moments of opera staged in public areas. This one is in Palermo, Italy.

Economic news so disheartening you'll want to be sitting down to read it.

Randy Olson, our fearless filmmaker, holds forth on the Science Cheerleaders.

Nothing against the U-2, it's a marvelous airplane. But really, if we retired the SR-71, shouldn't we be moving forward with the next generation of spy plane, not going back to stuff our grandparents built?

Video talk by the Air Force One pilot who was flying on September 11.

My buddy Erika appeared recently on the "Faces of Marshall" feature on NASA.gov. When she starts talking about a certain friend who was very passionate about space, that'd be Your Humble Narrator.

From the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE), a collection of peer-reviewed papers on anthropomorphic global warming.

From Doc: a recommended "not stupid" site on football analysis.

Interesting article on why the Singularity won't happen.

I just loved this blog by Allie Brosh. Her humor is wickedly funny and her drawing manages to convey emotion if not exactly Michelangelo.

A guide on how to taste wine.

The MaybeLogic Academy...

I still like this: a force field for IDF tanks. Now we need one!

And I guess that'll do for now. I'm rather busy, so if I'm not posting as often, please know that it's for a good cause: promoting Science Cheerleader.com or the International Space Development Conference.

Salud.

The Nastiness that is Leukemia

I haven't provided an update on my little buddy Morgan since her months-long battle with leukemia seemed to have subsided, with medical arts and sciences up 1-0. Much like a building not falling down, an 8-year-old who's life is returning to relative normalcy doesn't make headlines. Well, that'll teach me to take my eye off the ball. Dar sent me a message that Morgan was back in the hospital because so was the leukemia. If I understand things correctly, the cancer wasn't really in remission, just hiding(?). How else to explain Morgan's elevated white cell count?

Anyhow, Ame (Morgan's mom), Morgan, and Dar have been working out this whole thing together. As usual, Morgan's spirit continues to amuse and inspire me. How else do you explain Morgan's notice to her nurses?

Morgan and Ame are not known to me personally; I know them electronically through Dar. I'm not one who's terribly good or comfortable with kids (just ask my sister or cousins about how "well" I deal with family visits). But Dar sent me a picture of Morgan with her daughter that won me over because it just blew my mind....

So there's Morgan, head smooth as a ping pong ball from whatever chemo they're giving her, and she's got a smile on that lights up a room. I keep hard copies of this photo by my computer at work and here at home to remind me of the need for spirit regardless of the situation. I mean, seriously: what the heck do I have to worry about in comparison? As my mother likes to remind me, "It could be worse." And yeah, it always could be. But even if it is worse, that doesn't stop some people from smiling enough to light up the room. I want to be that guy.

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.

Potpourri CLIII

Diving in...

I will do a more detailed analysis of these two articles at some point, but it is interesting to contrast the views of Kim Stanley Robinson, who believes that scientists should assert themselves as some sort of scientific leftist elite while Anthony Gottlieb believes that scientists need to be more humble about forcing their conclusions on people.

From Hu, the latest proposed outrage from the airline industry: even less leg room.

The only thing more arrogant than asserting that human beings alone are capable of "destroying the planet" might be human beings asserting that we can fix the planet. Makes for interesting science fiction, but we're a ways off at this point from doing either.

Here's an editorial from The Space Review on the Space Shuttle's imminent demise and the programmatic mistakes made along the way.

Feeling snarky? Sarcastic? Pessimistic about the state of humanity or the world in general? This site might be for you.

From Twila: an editorial on bringing back the manned space program. Caveat visor: I haven't read this one yet.

This amuses me greatly: a terrorist made the mistake of asking one of his captives to help him set up his smart phone. This is a truly Ayn Randian moment--or at least a teachable moment, to use the current political lexicon. The assumption on the part of the terrorist is that the civilized person will comply with his wish to keep the machinery of civilization working at the point of a gun. This stuff needs to stop.

Melissa forwarded me this site of videos about the Periodic Table of the Elements after I explained that I was learning about them via another class-on-CD from The Teaching Company, "The Joy of Science." You know: because I don't have anything else to dod with my free time.

From the MSN Lifestyle section, a little helpful primer for women on rejecting men who ask them out.

I was feeling pretty good about my salami and provolone sandwich I was eating the other day, then I ran across this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1310805/TV-chef-Martin-Blunos-creates-cheese-sandwich-costs-incredible-110.html

From Lin:

• An editorial pointing out that private property rights in the U.S. are deteriorating. How badly? Well, when China and Ghana(?) are ahead of us on that score, you've got to wonder.
• An editorial on the fact that the U.S. is now getting cozier with Vietnam, a place where we once had quite a nasty war. This isn't terribly surprising. I see it as part of an ongoing effort to surround China with U.S.-friendly nations on the Asian mainland: Vietnam, Thailand, India, and some of the Central Asian republics. The Spanish Hapsburgs tried to rein in France in the 16th-18th centuries in a similar fashion, much as we tried to hem in Germany after World Wars I and II and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and Iran today. The enemy of my enemy is my friend...at least for the moment. Or so the thinking goes. This is how we ended up giving arms to Saddam Hussein, then turning on him when he started messing with our interests in Saudi Arabia. Lin quoted Lord Palmerston aptly on this: "Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests."

I have more, but that will do for now. I simply must get caught up on my sleep at some point.

Potpourri CLI

The busy-ness continues. I'll provide more details about ISDC and the Science Cheerleader thing as the Outreach Coordinator (i.e. that'd be your humble narrator) writes them. :-) Meanwhile, on to other things!

Where has all the oil gone in the Gulf? Well, we've captured some, some is still leaking and floating around out there or polluting the beaches, and some...well, some of it is being eaten by bacteria.



Is the web hurting Gen Y’s critical thinking skills? My guess would be yes...but not just theirs.

From Karen: a bacon wallet. Furreal.

This is pretty cool: the Kepler telescope has detected its first multi-planet solar system out there among all them-thar bright stars. We are living in an age of wonders, my friends. Gotta pay attention out there.

A summary of 11 great operas in 10 minutes. Caveat visor: I have watched this yet, it just sounded fun.

Okay, this will make you feel very healthy, sane, and well-adjusted. Some dude has spent $250,000 remaking himself to look like a lizard. Did anyone at ANY time consider offering this guy counseling? Like, ever? Seriously. Dude.

I need to re-watch this video and respond at some point. It is an attempt to redefine what ethics should look like in the 21st century. I found myself reacting against some of it, because either the logic or assumptions were fuzzy. Or, perhaps, because I found the conclusions unrealistic. But then most of my philosophical influences are either ancient or from the Enlightenment, which are exactly the things the piece is criticizing. Go figure.

An essay talking about fear in our lives, but also fear in airport security. I liked its new term "the fear tax." Worth reading.

Note to people who both a) want to visit Afghanistan and b) perform public displays of affection. Uh, don't: Taliban militants stoned a couple to death over alleged love affair.

Potpourri CL

I haven't done one of these in awhile, but I'll keep the links to a minimum, for your sanity's sake, and mine.

Science fiction writer Charles Stross has a provocative essay on why space exploration is inherently incompatible with the libertarianism that seems to pervade so much of the pro-space community.  It's not that I disagree with most of Stross's individual points, but I think he's missing a crucial aspect of the appeal of space exploration, even among non-libertarian white males, which is simply the romantic notion many human beings have of going "where no one has gone before," which includes more than a little "frontier narrative."

I found an intriguing paper via Facebook that links creativity to law-breaking. I have a very long response to this paper in the works, but I'm a little on the sleepy side to finish it this evening. The truth is out there.

From Lin: Interesting conflict of values in the whole "green power" debate: if those giant windmills kill hundreds or thousands of bats, birds, etc., which faction of the environmental movement wins that debate?

From Karen: a personal website for one of folks who designs cool things for Hollywood.

From Martin: a wiki for those interested in commercial space.

Oh, here's a shock (sarcasm font ON): Huntsville has been rated among the top 10 geekiest cities in America.

From Antoinette: celebrity commentaries on the stupid stuff you see on TV.

From OpenCulture:

• An interview with Jorge Luis Borges recorded before the eminent SF writer died.
• Harvard University has released an open-source program to help scholars create project-related web sites in a hurry.

From Jerry Pournelle: some remarks on the Tea Party movement and its effect on the American political scene, as well as other matters.

From Jim P.: The top ten human-hating ecologists.

From Mom: a time-lapse video showing the "progress" of unemployment across the country. Note the "bright" spots in the underpopulated Great Plains and just outside Washington, DC. If those are the choices...think I'll tough it out here in Huntsville. The taxes are lower and the weather's warmer.

I'm probably going to lose my battle against my buying urges on this one: a Star Wars sun shade for the dashboard.

From Janel (a.k.a. FemiFist): some suggested links if you need to do web tracking of your marketing efforts.

And I think that'll about do it. Have a good week, everyone. Keep the chaos down to a minimum on your end, and I'll try to do the same on mine, 'kay?

Potpourri CXLIX

The odds of my getting through the blog file backlog aren't good this evening, but I'll do what I can. The format of this blog has been evolving over the past four years or so, and it will continue to do so. To wit: I’m going to try not to bombard my readers (all 20, God bless you!) with scads of links. Instead, I’ll try to focus on just a few—the ones that really catch my eye—and provide a little more commentary. Maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t. If you want a lot of links, I’ll just refer you to the pages at the right, where I find most of this craziness anyway. However, since I still have an inbox to clean out, the limited-link rule isn't going into effect quite yet.

Science, Technology, and Space

Might as well start with some good news from the space biz for a change: my friend Rick Tumlinson gave a really great, level-headed, forward-looking speech at the NewSpace conference this past week. It's worth a listen on both sides of the government/industry "debate" (I put the words in quotes because it's been more like a screaming match).

From another libertarian space friend, Tom Olson: a couple of ideas here and here on how to get carbon out of the atmosphere--"carrots instead of sticks," as he puts it--that would not require an economy-destroying idea like "Cap and Trade."

From the University of Central Florida: a simulation that is supposed to help teach pre-teenage girls to resist social pressure to engage in sex and other behaviors. Hm. I guess "Just say no" doesn't sell anymore?

What if the Earth really did stand still?

New Airbus concept aircraft. Cool!



The inventor of the “black box” has died.


SpaceShipTwo could do glide tests this autumn.

The flight over the three-hour “tarmac rule” continues. The consultants are right on this one: airlines are canceling more flights. And since many of these three-hour waits are due to weather, the airlines manage to avoid both the FAA fine and having to reimburse passengers for hotels or other expenses because weather-related delays are considered beyond their control. Something that is under control, as Mike Boyd keeps pointing out, is upgrading the government-controlled Air Traffic Control system to 21st century technology. Don’t hold your breath waiting on that to happen quickly.

Need an upgrade to your yacht? Have you considered a Maltese Falcon-class ship?

Culture

From Father Dan:

• Three of Time Magazine's Top 50 American Roadside Attractions are located in Alabama. "Y'all come," as we might say around here.
• Want to know where the speed traps are in your area? Check this out. Disclaimer: I am not encouraging speeding here. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

From Cousin Katherine: a new cultural dictionary, which is definitely more polite and less profane than the Urban Dictionary. This one is interesting because it doesn't just define terms but explains what cultural trend they are reflecting.

Interested in being a science writer? Check out this link.



I won a t-shirt today from Science for Citizens (W00t!). If you're interested in DIY science experiments, give that site a look. And speaking of t-shirts, I thought Darlene the Science Cheerleader might like this new t-shirt.

Ever heard of a Turboencabulator? Some technobabble humor, courtesy of Karen and Doc.

Hard to top this: The Best Image of Chewbacca Riding a Giant Squirrel and Fighting Nazis That You Will See Today. No foolin'. And along the same lines: Cow choreography.

Is there a relationship between Social Darwinism and classical liberalism?

From Lin: A new authorized biography of SF giant Robert A. Heinlein is due out soon. This should be fun.

From Anthony: how to open a bottle of wine with just a shoe. Not sure I'd want to admit to this one, though...

Famous authors reading works aloud.

Oh, the Old Spice towel guy isn't done quite yet. He can leave your voice mail, if you're so inclined.

Robert Silverberg, one of my favorite SF writers, has written an essay suggesting that the days of the full-time science fiction novelist might be numbered.

U.S. Politics


From Lin: Okay, so remember all the brouhaha about American banks not being "transparent" in their dealings with the public about this or that financial instrument? You know--that whole cause of the now-two-year-old-recession? Anyhow, it's a bit odd that the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC), the government agency responsible for overseeing these suitably bailed-out or publicly chastened banks, is exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Wonder who will complain first?

This essay has been on my reading list for awhile, and it was worth the wait. It is an American Spectator discussion on America's "ruling class," which is a different thing from the "political class."

How d'ya like that? I managed to clear the inbox and still have time to shut down and slow down the brain before sleep. Will wonders never cease? Anyhow, I hope you've enjoyed these quick-hit excursions through the internet. In the future, seriously, I'll try to restrict my "Oh, look at this!" list to a choice few. After all, if you just wanted links, you could probably go to one of the sites I'm already surfing. The point here is to cough up some thoughts of my own, right? Or so the theory goes.

Peace and happy thoughts, all.

Potpourri CXLVIII

Still lots of stuff of stuff out there in Cyberland, and I can't claim to understand it all--never mind the things happening in the real world. Be that as it may, I'll continue to dribble out new links and my reactions to them as I can. Let's be careful out there.

Economics

Since the economy continues to slog along, might as well start with this. Jerry Pournelle has some thoughts on deflation, tariffs, free trade, and the ultimate aims of economic policy. They bear thinking about, if not implementing.

Alaska and North Dakota lead the nation in job creation. Great. But they’re cold places. Got to want the job badly enough, I suppose.


Culture


This movie is just wild.



Found by Doc: a steampunk role playing game. And why is steampunk so popular anyway?

Also from Doc: apparently today is National Scotch Day. Who knew? Anyhow, I found some 12-year-old Glenlivet for the occasion. That stuff's expensive. Really looking forward to National Cheap Beer Day.


There is a reason why I no longer consider it my personal responsibility to right all of the wrongs or punish all the jackals/ignoramouses of the world: eventually they damage themselves. Case in point, socialist movie director Oliver Stone, who accused the "Jewish-dominated" U.S. media of making a scapegoat of Adolf Hitler. And now Oliver Stone has apologized for his Hitler remarks…that only took a single news cycle.

From Hu: a British comedy sketch on the real logic behind the "moon landings."

Oy… rocks are now too dangerous for school children? That’s what half my elementary school’s playground was paved with, for gosh sakes!

Why aren’t these Wikileaks guys in federal prison? Every time I submit a conference paper for NASA--a civilian federal gency--I have to submit a NASA Form 1676, signed by five civil servant officials, certifying that said paper does not reveal sensitive technologies to foreign powers. And mind you, I'm usually writing at a very high level about stuff that won't get people killed or that is already available in the public domain. I was informed that if I avoided this process, I could be punished via fines or imprisonment. These twits at Wikileaks have released tens of thousands of documents on activities that absolutely can or will put our troops in harm's way. Exactly how many forms were signed to get that cache out the door?

Jane Austen + Fight Club? Yes.

How to deal with pirates off the Horn of Africa: a handy guide.


Science, Technology, and Space


Some guy on YouTube is demonstrating a homemade carbon dioxide laser.


I’m a big fan of BoingBoing.net, as you can probably tell. If you’re ever interested in submitting to their site, they now have a “Submitterator,” which they use to gauge whether something goes in the regular queue or not.


Aside from logistical difficulties and pollution created by building their batteries, eco-friendly cars face another recurring problem: price tag shock. How does $41,000 sound? No, thanks. I’ll stick with my Honda.


Where are the flying cars? There were supposed to be flying cars! Oh, wait. Never mind…

Google “will conquer the final frontier.” Well, we’ll see.

An astronaut made the first sign language address from space this week. Cool!

One study says that it’s time to slow down our reading speed. Amen to that. I had a discussion with someone about this awhile back--probably in grad school because it related to the general decline in literacy. I wasn't just grousing in a grumpy-old-man-English-major sort of way, I was arguing that the loss of concentration on linear, long-form reading could have serious long-term consequences for the sciences, too. A lot of things (calculus comes to mind, but also analytical geometry and other mathematical proofs required for engineering and science) require that a person learn them in a methodical, step-by-step, linear fashion. It's very hard to think that way if you're used to random-access, hypertextual thinking, which absorbs information in smaller chunks. Mathematical proofs, especially, require the individual to show their work--their logical, linear train of thought--or they cannot in fact be proven or replicated. Now it might be possible to teach such things in a hypertextual manner, but lacking a lot of in-depth education in education, hypertext, or math, I'm not sure how you'd do it. I do know that formal, linear logic is a foundation that is more and more often neglected. Just my $.02.

Another study says that relationship breakups are akin to cocaine addiction. Hmmm.

A court has ruled that it is now legal for iPhone users to "jailbreak" (hack into) their machines and install whatever applications they want or even switch service providers. I again had to defer to Doc on this one because I read this article and asked, "So what?" The answer is that there are some apps that, for one reason or another, Apple hasn't accepted. Also, since AT&T has exclusive rights to run the iPhone until 2011, that means problems for them. Apple's reaction to this appears to be that if someone decides to "jailbreak" their phone and there's a problem with it, said phone is no longer covered by the warranty. If the user wants to reinstall their factory default settings, Apple will be happy to help, but all the new/crazy stuff the user installed will be wiped out. This isn't over.

Foreign Affairs

Is Confucianism replacing communism in the hearts and minds of Chinese citizens? From what I recall from my Chinese history class, Confucius (Kung Fu-tze) was a social reformer who emphasized meritocracy and a ruling class that was steeped in history and literature, much like the British Empire used to emphasize Greek and Roman history in training its civil servants. This approach instilled several things: respect for tradition, including reverence and worship of one’s ancestors; deference to one’s betters (caste system); and a ruling class that was expected to behave morally and justly, or else face revolt. I can see why such a conservatism could appeal in China today: capitalism can upset a lot of apple carts, at the top and bottom rungs of the social ladder.

I've pontificated a bit more than I'd planned this evening, so I'll quit for now...but as always, there's more to come.

Potpourri CXLVII

Hoo boy. I got way behind. Expect a heapin' helpin' of links today.

Culture

Let's start with something fun. A new "flash mob" activity: singing La Traviata in the Reading, PA, train station. I still like the group that danced to a song from The Sound of Music in the Antwerp train station. Occasionally the internet can do fun things.

However, social media are like people: not always good, and occasionally subject to abuse. Take, for example, the effort made by two Venezuelan citizens for stating that the financial system in that country was unstable. Venezuela's dictator, Hugo Chavez, promptly had them arrested. Now the Tweet might or might not be true, but it says something very telling about a socialist government when even a <140-character>

Found by Dennis: Speaking of Twitter, some university researchers depicted the "mood" of Tweets across the lower 48 States graphically. I'm still not sure how this works, but it's an interesting visual.

From Doc: "Some Friday 'splode." I'd like to thank Doc and Widge for introducing me to the concept of 'splode, which is short of "kick'splode," which itself is shorthand for an all-encompassing type of movie that usualy includes violence (kicks) or property damage via explosions ('splode). What they call kick'splode, I usually call "big, dumb action movies." Anyhow, RED looks fun. However, the ultimate kick'splode movie of the summer might be The Expendables, which stars almost every single action hero from the '80s and '90s, including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Dolph(?) Lundgren. To quote Widge, "Hijinks will ensue."

This has to be a joke or an industry-inspired made-up holiday, but apparently today is National Tequila Day. Don't American beverages need some support, too?

If you like space art, you might want to check out Pat Rawlings' site. He does work for SAIC, I believe, and was gracious enough to serve as one of the judges for the 2009 NSS Space Settlement Calendar.

Now this is useful! A light saber bottle opener.

A guy robbed a bank dressed as Darth Vader. I’ll say this: it’s creative.



Disney is taking another shot at making a Haunted Mansion movie. I’d forgotten about the Eddie Murphy version. Anyhow, my curiosity persists: what needs are films based on theme park attractions or old TV shows fulfilling?



Be careful which outdoor activity you practice this summer: http://gizmodo.com/5594567/reminder-dont-practice-one-of-these-summer-activities

From Kate Down Under: a reminder that the U.S. has buried another Medal of Honor recipient. The summary of what he did to earn it, as always, is astounding:

In 1944, 2nd Lt. Baker was sent to Italy with a full platoon of 54 men. On April 5, he and his soldiers found themselves behind enemy lines near Viareggio, Italy. When concentrated enemy fire from several machine gun emplacements stopped his company's advance, Baker crawled to one and destroyed it, killing three Germans. Continuing forward, he attacked an enemy observation post and killed two occupants.


With the aid of one of his men, Baker attacked two more machine gun nests, killing or wounding the four enemy soldiers occupying these positions. Then he covered the evacuation of his wounded soldiers by occupying an exposed position and drawing the enemy's fire.

On the following night, Baker voluntarily led a battalion advance through enemy mine fields and heavy fire.

In all, Baker and his platoon killed 26 Germans and destroyed six machine gun nests, two observer posts and four dugouts.

Baker's MOH was delayed because he was black. Well earned, and long overdue, sir.

From Father Dan: a restaurant at Downtown Disney now has a meatball bar. As in the food on the menu includes different kinds of meatballs. As to whether there are meatballs sitting at the bar, well, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Women are fighting abuse in rural India





Wood floors made from wine barrels. Cool! And here’s another bit: a coffee table filled with old computer parts. BoingBoing finds some weird stuff.


An interview with a technical writer and science fiction that is worth reading. An important caution here, but the entire interview bears attention:


Dr. Who themes from 1963 to 2010. You know: because everyone wants to know.

I can't recommend technical writing as a day job for fiction writers, because it's going to be hard to write all day and then come home and write fiction. Nowadays I work as a freelance writer, so I usually do contract technical writing part of the year and then I take time off and do fiction writing the rest of the year. It's too difficult for me to do technical writing at the same time as fiction writing - they draw on the same parts of my brain. So I can't say it's a good day job in that sense, but it's a way to make money.

My buddy Karl would like this…a little applied psychology, though I’m not sure I like the implications: 101 ways to influence others’ behavior.



Not sure what to make of this cartoon, but it’s got a space theme.


Looking to get arrested? Someone is selling stickers that make it look like you’re carrying a lot of drugs in your suitcase. Here's your sign...

This pug "singing" the old Batman TV show theme has been making the rounds on the internet. Oy. Please, make him stop! 

A young girl’s rocket-making video. Kinda reminds me of my niece. Wouldn't my sister love that!?

A Millennium Falcon guitar: now we're talkin'!

U.S. Politics

From Dale: Some folks are suggesting a moratorium on new business regulations for a year to help economic growth. Why do this? For an instructive tutorial on why adding more and more regulations can screw up the economy, I highly recommend Amity Shlaes' The Forgotten Man, a history of The Great Depression. However, the short version is simply this: governments might think they're "doing something for the people" by creating a lot of new regulations and laws to rein in "big business," but what really happens is that businesses big and small will refrain from investing or hiring new employees because they're afraid they might not be able to afford what government is going to do next. So when businesses stop investing and hiring, whom does that help? Exactly.

Sen. John Kerry, an old friend of forcing higher taxes on the rest of us, is docking his yacht(!) in Rhode Island to avoid paying higher docking taxes in his home state of Massachusetts (also known by some as “Taxachusetts”). Here’s a wild idea, Senator: try reducing taxes for everybody, not just when it suits your convenience. Or, if you truly believe that higher taxes are good for America, you should dock your boat in Massachusetts and gladly pay your “fair share.” Just sayin’.

Science, Technology, and Space

Some folks in India have announced the development of a $35 computer. Yeah, you read that right: $35, about $1,500 Rupees. The goal of the low-cost computers is to connect more schools and universities. Interestingly, the machines are run on Linux. Microsoft and Apple, please take note.

More on the internet...someone's figured out that we're running out of internet addresses. Expect more uneducated Y2K-type media frenzy as the problem becomes more well known (but not necessarily better understood).

NASA has released "the most accurate map of Mars ever."

Frank Morring at Aviation Week has a good assessment of the state of Constellation.

From Hu: BigThink.com has a brief history of laser weapons online.

From a friend at work: if the astronaut corps is about to be downsized, what will inspire kids to get into science and other technical disciplines? Good question.

A rapid-response team for oil spills—about bloody time.



Again, if you’ve not read his stuff before, my friend (and much more dedicated fellow space blogger) Jeff Foust has been providing excellent coverage of what’s happening with the NASA budget. The state of things right now is that both Houses of Congress have an authorization bill—a “vision,” if you will—stating what they want NASA to do, and those bills do not agree with each other. The Administration seems to agree with the Senate bill, but this ain’t over. Makes for an interesting working environment, I’ll say that.



Someone set up a Russian tank ballet. No, really.



Nanomaterial anti-bacterial surface. Cool!


A cloaking device? Not quite yet.




Foreign Affairs


The North Koreans are threatening “physical action” in response to U.S.-South Korean naval exercises. Yes, that ratchets up tensions in East Asia, but the Norks are known for raising heck to achieve just that result without any action to back it up. People take the Glorious Leader (Kim Jong Il) more seriously because he now has nuclear weapons. Imagine how much fun the news will be when Iran finally gets the nukes they want.

And I think I'm going to let it rest here for the time being. Lots of interesting stuff out there, but there's a limit, ya know?

Peace out,

/bRobotic scientists are now analyzing data and forming hypotheses. Perhaps we need to reevaluate the Turing Test?