Rich

Larry Niven has written along these lines, but they bear repeating. We live in a rich society. How rich we are isn't made clear to us until some of those riches are taken away.

In the last two hours, I've texted people in Alabama and South Carolina, talked to people in Illinois and Washington, DC, and sent emails to Colorado and California. I could do that because the communications device I use allows me to in places where the infrastructure works. I drove in my personal vehicle (another luxury) and am staying at a resort (absurd luxury) until the place where I live gets its infrastructure back. Northern Alabama is, in comparison to Northern Tennessee right now, poor. A natural disaster crippled the infrastructure that made Alabama rich.

It will be fixed again--the expectation that it will be is itself a luxury. We expect aid and temporary generators and instant wifi nodes to come and relieve the gaping holes in our ability to know what's going on. Easy access to information is a luxury.

A lot of those luxuries are the result of our space program (weather satellites, communication satellites). All of them require hard work, a solid industrial base, widespread education, and freedom to sustain them...all of those, except hard work, are luxuries.

I want to live in a rich society. Heck, I want everyone to live in that sort of rich society! But this week has served to remind me that none of what we take for granted CAN be taken for granted. And it takes work to sustain it.

My $.02 on a Friday in exile.

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 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?

Potpourri CXLVI

Too bad Blogger thinks I'm too "obscene" to make money, because this really is a fun gig. They refuse to answer my question on what, specifically, caused them to block me from making money via their assorted sponsors. Pity. Anyhow, the frivolity continues. There's some wacky stuff out on that-thar interwebs thang, so allow me to share more of what I've found.

Science, Technology, and Space

A bladeless fan maze, courtesy of Dyson. I won't even pretend to understand how they did this.


A clock that knits a scarf once a year.


Graphic: how we subsidize fossil fuels. My comment: this does not include the hundreds of billions we spend keeping soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the oil-producing regions protecting our access to said fuels. Are we ready to say yes to nuclear power, space solar power, and other high-density, low-carbon energy sources?


The upper atmosphere appears to have collapsed somehow, and even NASA doesn't know why. More to the point, what are the repercussions?


A history of the jet-powered car.


SpaceShipTwo has had its first flight with a crew aboard.

NASA's Lori Garver addresses the Senate authorization bill.

From D2:

Add this to the list of reasons spam is the World’s Most Annoying Modern Invention: It destroys the Earth.


According to a new infographic by Antonio Lupetti for Woork Up, spam spews more than 20 million tons of CO2 a year. The biggest polluter is, of course, the United States, which cranks out 20.8 percent of the world’s spam, amounting to 11.4 k/ tons of CO2 a day. India comes in a distant second, with 7.5 percent of global spam production and 4.12 k/ tons of CO2 a day.

Culture

Ferris Buehler meets Fight Club. No, really.


From various sources, but the Old Spice guy (the man your man could smell like) has morphed into a YouTube phenomenon. And now word that the Old Spice Guy has retired.


A kid came up with a creative way to get out of answering a quiz question.


For Doc: a giant dip pen.


What was the need for a movie about Facebook? Never mind, I'm still trying to figure out why someone decided to make a Brady Bunch movie.


An iPad-only novel is coming out.


It’s becoming interesting to me that some of the links I find could fit into either the Culture or Sci/Tech/Space section. Consider the following:

• This item of art
• This article about my pal Dar
• A story about Star Trek’s website getting a makeover. Got to say I'm not impressed.
• A social fundraising website.
• Twittering habits during the World Cup.
• A science fiction movie about “dream security.” Oh yes, and Widge has a Wayhomer review of said movie. He calls it a "mind grope" and that "it will make your brain hurt." Make of that what you will, but he definitely recommends seeing it.

Bottom line, I guess, is that technology is the culture…or a good chunk of it.


An 18th century ship was found at the World Trade Center site.

eBay crashes as millions of unwanted vuvuzelas going up for sale. What, you think I'd kid about this? Side note: I really hope my fellow Americans take decisive action against importing such things into this country.

Tom Olson had a recommendation on a place you can buy silver online.

A one-man Lord of the Rings is being presented off Broadway.

Here's a slogan from Doc, courtesy of Mike Tyson.

Corvette has a new ad that references the space program. I like it, actually.

Steampunk Mr. Potato Head and gas mask.



A bin Laden satire film has been banned by a Pakistani censor board.


Evil fortune cookies? Yes.


A women-only frustration booth has opened in China. Reminds me of the glass-breaking rooms in Fahrenheit 451.


Your daily dose of Disney: paper sculptures for Disneyland’s 55th anniversary.

Okay, so this was weird: someone has created a site where, if you plug in a sample of your writing, it will tell you what famous author's style your stuff most resembles. A piece of my actual fiction came back as Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code. Ick. But just for fun, I also plugged in a sample of my conference paper writing from work, and it came back H. P. Lovecraft. I'm trying to imagine juxtaposing transcendent, nameless horrors and launch vehicle development, and the mind just reels. But then some of my nightmares over the past month have kind of gone that way, so I guess maybe I can see it. Anyhow, plug in a swatch of your writing and check out the results. Charles Dickens came back Charles Dickens (amazing!), but Robert A. Heinlein came back Isaac Asimov, so their analytical engine is not comprehensive. Just a fair warning.

Here was an interesting question from the TED discussion group in LinkedIn: "Who are you? Could you tell the 'story of you' in six words?" My answer? "Born broken, he got better. Really."

Potpourri CXLIV

The fun continues...

Culture

From Phil: Let's just call this "stuff" kids have ruined.

From Kate Down Under: European spacecraft approaching an asteroid.

Here's an interesting idea: a fundraiser to create a science fiction novella market.

No WAY! Viggo Mortensen starring in a movie about Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung? Way.

From Tracy: An online program for history writers.

Multi-media visions of life at a lunar settlement.

Evolution as depicted in graffiti.

Star Wars-themed cereals. No, really.

Wonder Woman is getting a remake of her costume/uniform. There were a few alternate suggestions...

For Anika: the Octopus has spoken on the World Cup. Also, be on the lookout for unicorn crossings!

That cat's gonna eat your eyes when you die alone!

Okay, you've got to be a serious geek to appreciate this. I am, so I do. ThinkGeek.com sells t-shirts with logos from fictional companies that are depicted in science fiction stories. For example, Cosa Nostra Pizza is a mafia-run pizza chain in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. If someone gets the inside joke, you know they're probably someone worth talking to...or so geek social theory goes. 

I'll just tee this up without comment.

Lindsey Lohan going to jail for 90 days. Yawn.

The world’s ugliest footballer (soccer player) http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.7a45d8e08d846949099d5b95a1fa7ea4.871&show_article=1

“Wine product” is to wine what “processed cheese food” is to cheese, apparently. http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2010/07/06/you-have-now-been-warned-about-wine-product/?hpt=Sbin

Someone has made a satire on domestic terrorism. No, really. 


Oh, cool! Someone has archived Omni Magazine online! I was a fan and subscriber.

Just watch this trailer. I don't usually go in for French films, but this sounds fun!

Education

Kids in the Orlando area are skipping college for other options, including the military and trade schools. I don't think this is a bad thing. College isn't for everyone (or am I not allowed to say that?).

U.S. Politics

From Jerry Pournelle: Arthur Laffer on how to fix the economy. His recommendations, of course, will never be implemented.

After a long battle in Congress, EADS (the parent company of Airbus Industrie) is once again making a bid on the U.S. Air Force tanker contract. Here's another article on that whole fiasco.

Want to irritate the Transportation Security Administration on your next airplane trip? Consider wearing one of these t-shirts.

Cory Doctorow has an interesting piece on the "jobless recovery." With 9+ percent unemployment, how do you even CALL that a recovery?


A reminder on monopsony and that Uncle Sam is currently the largest and most viable customer for the space business. 


What happened to the "Republican attack machine?" Democrats are digging hard for dirt on GOP candidates in the 2010 elections.

Job killing? Nonsense! The administration is pro-business. Didn't you know?

Indiana is one of four states (I believe) that is running in the black. How? Check this out




Science, Technology, and Space
 
From Dar: What the oil spill would look like on Day 360 if it's not stopped by then.
 
No, the government is not developing an internet "kill switch." Here's what they are doing: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704545004575352983850463108.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories Doc's comment: Fascinating. Makes a ton more sense than the earlier article about the government having an Internet "kill switch." Monitor infrastructure networks for signs of intrusion, use crazy-good NSA countermeasures to foil those attempts to shut down power grids, etc. The areas mentioned in the article (utilities, public transit, air traffic control) are already beholden to various government regulatory agencies, so I'm not seeing the "Big Brother" threat here, honestly.

Robots making driving safer? Hm...
 
Work is now progressing on a solar-powered aircraft. They were going for a 24-hour test flight. Still, what do you do if you're based in Seattle or Alaska or a very high load factor? I'd say that we're awhile away from making this standard operating equipment at O'Hare International Airport.

A variety of techno-links:

• Dark skies or church visibility? http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northnorthwest/ct-x-n-dark-skies-0707-20100707,0,1089791.story
• Want a really, REALLY fast car? http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/07/bugatti-veyron-super-sport-268-mph/
• Hard to believe, but Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has been orbiting the Moon for a year now. http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/new-moon-revealed-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-100707.html
• A high-end watch…and more. http://gizmodo.com/5581180/this-is-a-watch-believe-it-or-not
• Nice house… http://gizmodo.com/5580961/who-doesnt-want-to-live-in-this-dream-house
• Slow production rates for the GM/Chevy Volt expected: http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/07/autos/volt_production/index.htm?hpt=T2
• A site dedicated to preserving the S.S. United States, once the fastest cruise liner on the seas (back when people cared about such things): http://ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/blog/
• A couple off-kilter views on nuclear war: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/03/yackety-sax-global-t.html and my favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TWJt8yUpQw&feature=related
• Oh, speaking of nukes, there has been another suggestion about nuking the oil spill off the Gulf Coast to plug the leak. Right, because THAT won't cause any more environmental damage.

From Lin: an experimental lunar lander being worked on at JSC.


This is weird: apparently food in a virtual environment can trigger stress in people with eating disorders.

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.

Potpourri CXLII

Now that my head's clearer, I can start collecting random links of interest for sheer curiosity's sake. Off we go...

First, a visit into the Realm of the Annoying: the physics of the vuvuzela. Oh, and speaking of vuvuzelas (vuvuzelae? vuvuzelii?), here's a video of the world's largest specimen.

Next, while nothing is certain in the current environment, I see that NASA has released a BAA (Broad Agency Announcement) seeking companies to perform studies for heavy-lift vehicles (HLVs). Given that we've already built and flown a HLV--that'd be Saturn V--I can't help but wonder what's to be studied.

A little bipartisan zinging...for my friends on the left and the right.

Random thing...dogs dressed up as lobsters. No, really. Those dogs are going to eat their owners' eyes when they die alone.

Found by Doc: the difference between math and engineering.

What would you use self-folding origami for? How about robotic rovers?

From Kate Down Under: Australia has its first female prime minister.

Star Wars and high fashion? Hmmmm.


The Adventurers Club from Disney's Pleasure Island has been recreated virtually.

Found a brochure for this site while cleaning out my cubicle: http://www.newforks.net/

From Anika: Some headlines are so out there that there's no suitable lead-in. This might be one of them.

How can visiting Batavia, Illinois' FermiLab change kids' perspectives on what it's like to be a scientist? Check this out.

More food for thought in the ongoing discussion over how writing-based organizations can make money on the internet...The Times of London--hardly a low-quality publication--added a "pay wall" popup window for people wanting to read their content, and their readership on the site dropped 50 percent. Doc's comments on this article were instructive:

Paywalls are a disastrous idea, period. It’s a little bit of an edge case for something like a newspaper, but here’s the short version of the (currently) only viable business model for something like a paper

1. Online paper hires writers, pays them for content created.

2. Online paper sells advertising space to cover costs and turn profit.

3. Online paper publishes created content at no cost to the reader, subsidized by the advertising in question.

Attempts to do it other ways (pay walls, membership fees, etc.) have pretty much catastrohpically failed for every paper that’s tried it. I think the WSJ is the only notable exception to this rule.

A bionic cat? Yes.

For those who are interested, here's a site that collects some of Jerry Pournelle's thoughts on politics.
A random heapin' helpin' of recent sites that interested me:

• An animated story about a writer who couldn't read.
• A card game about game design.
• Did Twitter cost General McChrystal his command?
• World's slowest Porsche.
• A collaborative ukelele jam courtesy of YouTube. I can't make this up, folks.
• DIY fusion.
• A gated resort will be opening at Walt Disney World. Wonder what that'll cost.
• For Anthony in Hong Kong: China's high-tech underclass.
• Replacing the "red phone" to the Kremlin with Twitter? Yep.
• Bollywood is making a spoof about Osama bin Laden. About time someone did.
• Because there are parts of the world Sir Richard Branson still has yet to own, he has moved into the gaming business.
• Like, whatever! '80s teen idols Debbie Gibson and Tiffany are going to appear in a SyFy Network show.
• There's been a lot of talk on the Drudge Report about Congress giving the President the power to shut down the internet. Here's a link suggesting that that's not quite doable.
• Lightsaber USB sticks. Now, now, kids...no need to fight over them.
• Wil Wheaton, forever to be known as Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, will be guest starring in an episode of Leverage.
• On yet another science fictional note, here's what happens when Dr. Who meets up with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

I really shouldn't be allowed loose on the internet...oh, well. We now return you to your regularly scheduled foolishness.

Potpourri CXLI

Science, Technology, and Space

And you thought your job sucked? Check out this accident report from the National Transportation Safety Board: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20060131X00140&ntsbno=DFW06FA056&akey=1

The politics of open government: http://govfresh.com/2010/05/the-politics-of-open-government-free-speech/
Russia is starting a 520-day Mars simulation mission: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100602/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_mission_to_mars

Oil Stories…worst case, the leak might last through Christmas: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPfFTgqayIKY&pos=9  

A 21-year-old in NY has a proposed solution for the leak: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/leak_solution_Zw3RdLcmYcdsA4UAz6WMwM#ixzz0phF8fb9b

A little history on the spill…the present mess is not the worst the Gulf of Mexico has seen: http://news.discovery.com/earth/gulf-oil-spill-ixtoc.html, nor is it the largest spill in world history. That distinct dishonor belongs to Saddam Hussein and his troops, who dumped over 400 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf: http://employees.oneonta.edu/baumanpr/geosat2/Environmental_Warfare/ENVIRONMENTAL_WARFARE.htm. There is some hope for recovery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_oil_spill), though military friends of mine tell me you shouldn’t go swimming in the Persian Gulf anyway. Space-based solar power doesn’t do any of this, folks…but it’s hard to prove until we try to build a satellite.

From Lin, a couple of reports on the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship:
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/06/02/the-navys-new-corvette/?test=latestnews and http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2010/06/02/military-tech-action/?test=faces#slide=1. Too bad they're likely to cancel it.

NASA is seeking research proposals for "green" aircraft: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/

From Hu: Coke bottles and Mentos. What could be better? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-hXcRtbj1Y&feature=player_embedded 

As Jimmy Durante used to say, "Everybody wants to get in on the act." Dolphins are now using iPads: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/01/dolphin-uses-ipad-as.html

Also from ISDC: a great debate turns out to be a bit of a dud: http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/05/30/the-other-great-debate/

Satellite highlights of the 2009 hurricane season: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=14606692

From Kate Down Under:

• NASA Revives Voyager 2 Probe at Solar System's Edge - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100529/sc_space/nasarevivesvoyager2probeatsolarsystemsedge
• The conspiracy behind the conspiracy: http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2009/08/12/de-classified-documents-reveal-4th-astronaut-%e2%80%98accidentally-left-behind%e2%80%99-after-first-moon-landing/
• This ain't over: Shuttle Atlantis could fly one more mission before retiring. http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20100526/sc_space/shuttleatlantiscouldstillflyonemoremissionbeforeretiring

Masten Space Systems has done something very cool: started, stopped, and restarted a rocket engine in flight. Not easy. http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30929
A golf ball hitting a steel plate at 150 miles per hour. That reminds me, I need to get to the driving range when I'm done blogging here. http://www.wservernews.com/56LS6X/100531-Slow-Motion

The X Prize Foundation is hiring... http://www.xprize.org/about/join-our-team

Speaking of hiring, Doc pointed out this site for people looking for a job in the gaming business: http://www.gamasutra.com/jobs/

From Hu:

• NASA unveils a satellite system for locating lost hikers, boaters, and other lost outdoorsy types: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-satellite-rescue-beacon-20100525,0,2765269.story?track=rss
• Autonomous robots could be used for Homeland Security: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/25/mighty-machines-autonomous-robots-could-be-used-ho/

Citizens Against Government Waste cheer the demise of the Constellation Program: http://www.spacepolitics.com/2010/05/26/augustine-in-huntsville-cagw-cheers-constellations-demise/. Can I come stay at your house if I lose my job?

Here's something new: "Random Hacks of Kindness," putting this interweb stuff to constructive purposes. http://www.rhok.org/events/rhok-1-0/

Another argument for killing Constellation: pollution. http://spacenews.com/commentaries/100524-obama-rocket.html

From @DindraneErin: quantum teleportation. Neato! http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2010/05/quantum-teleportation-achieved-over-ten-miles-of-free-space.ars


Education
The National Academies have a cool podcast series called The Sounds of Science. One of their recent 'casts was about STEM education, alwasy a favorite topic of Your Humble Narrator. Enjoy!

D2 finally got back to me on what she meant by "stealth STEM."

http://water.signtific.org/


You take a regular guy/gal. They play a game. They solve an EPIC world problem - or just propose solutions. They get hooked on the topic. They want to know more / do more. And they pursue it.

Like an English major who dreamed of Space.

Thanks!

Teacherrrrs innnn SPAAAAACE! http://www.teachersinspace.org/

A kid-made science kit: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/25/kid-made-science-kit.html

Not sure I hold with all of this, but Lin forwarded the following editorial on how to improve schools: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2010/05/improving_schools_by_paying_te.html. Lin also provided the following thoughts as well: http://theempressisnaked.blogspot.com/2010/05/yeah-but-never-did-anything-worthwhile.html. (Expecting Sabine not to like these...)

This is sort of a space thing, but it can also fit under the "citizen science" rubric, so I'll do a little relocating. MoonZoo.org wants people to do detailed counts of craters on the lunar surface. http://www.moonzoo.org/about

U.S. Politics
Conservative women are running for Congress in record numbers: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127369770

A TSA critic passes through the airport: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/24/schneier-at-the-airp.html



Foreign Affairs
Someone suggested this as a “solution” for Israel’s problems with their neighbors: http://wargames.co.uk/Poems/Grave.htm. Western military minds don’t think this way anymore.

The U.S. will join South Korea in a military exercise off the North Korean coast: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Media/us-join-south-korea-military-exercise-north-korea/story?id=10807101 ... and North Korea threatens military action: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NKorea_says_Souths_navy_trespassed_warns_of_military_action_999.html

This is from awhile ago, but it's just a reminder that it's a dangerous world out there (like we needed any more reminders?): http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/24/embassy-jamaica-curtails-service-accused-drug-lords-impending-extradition-spurs/



Culture

From Lin:

• This is kind of cool: a way to give kids toys at low cost: http://www.unplugdesign.com/project2.html

From our British cousins across the pond, a little lesson on how airplanes work (warning: contains dry humor): http://bit.ly/doaQpU

From Anika:

• A podcast of a Star Trek: The Next Generation reunion: http://www.vtwproductions.com/home/2010/5/30/podcast-of-the-star-trektng-reunion.html
• You suck at Craigslist, a site dedicate to people who just can't put decent Craigslist ads together: http://www.yousuckatcraigslist.com/
• Some interesting artwork involving Muppets and Star Wars characters: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/05/james-hance-channels-our-collective-inner-geek/ 
• An artist who works with recycled packaging. No, really... http://www15.ocn.ne.jp/~package/package_002.htm  

This is all sorts of wrong, but I laughed anyway: an alien taxidermy throw rug. http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/01/alien-taxidermy-thro.html. You realize, of course, that there's an alien out there somewhere with a human throw rug, right?

Now on a t-shirt: "I'm an English major, you do the math."

Some words of wisdom regarding your old friend, the #2 pencil: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/57276  

Whatever happened to achievements? http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/06/achievement-unlocked/

Three Saudi youths are in trouble with the Saudi Arabian religious police after appearing on an MTV reality show: http://alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6500FV.htm

My buddy Tammie is trying win a $600 writing class. If you have time to vote could you please go to http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/content.php?242-First-Step-Contest and click #59 "Four demons down ... but how many remained?" Just tryin' to help.

One of D2's friends has a new food and wine blog worth checking out. This site does serious "long form" essays and reviews on food and wine.

D2 also shared this: Star Wars cookie cutters. Because, really, every home should have some. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/star-wars-cookie-cutter/

Not sure what the point of Wimp.com is, but they have a great video of three teenage kids belting out O Sole Mio. Do they even give American kids vocal lessons anymore? http://www.wimp.com/threetenors/

What, you didn't know? The movie Airplane was a serious sendup of the '50s movie "Zero Hour." http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/26/airplane-side-by-sid.html

Hmmmm...what Disney Princesses supposedly teach girls about life: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/24/what-disney-princess.html
From Anthony in Hong Kong: all the comforts of home in a Beijing wet bar. http://8daysshanghaibeijing.posterous.com/all-the-conveniences-of-home

From Martin: another Star Trek fan film: http://videos.startrekphase2media.com/Enemy/

You want information? I don't think so: http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/welcome.html

The rich are different from you and me, they have more money. …they have more money. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/home/orl-celebrity-home-pictures,0,6820906.photogallery

D2 and I are big fans of TED Talks. Here's a talk that takes a punchy look at things and demystify how to create a create TED talk. D2 also directed me to the site that can make it happen: http://get-tedpad.com/  

From the MSN Relationships department, an attempt to "demystify dude theory." Well, maybe. http://glo.msn.com/relationships/debunking-dude-theory-1533313.story?gt1=49000