The State of Constellation

My workplace is in an odd state, and has been since February 1. On the one hand, you've got the President, whom the agency reports to, proposing a budget that would close down the Constellation Program; and on the other hand, you've got a law on the books, passed by Congress, which says that NASA can't radically change or cancel the program without Congressional approval. And really, the budget process has just begun. What to do, what to think?

The best thing I can do right now is sit back and wait. The debate on the 2011 budget is still in the early phases. The good news is that the Ares Projects have been given marching orders to continue to do the work they'd planned to do for 2010, so I'm probably cool job-wise through at least the end of the fiscal year (September 30). Beyond that, NASA will still need writers, still need engineers and other folks. Perhaps not as many in some places as in others. The places and people that depended on human spaceflight will be hurting. There will be new work (assuming the President gets his way, and it's hard to see how he won't) in technology, which will provide work for some folks, but probably not the SAME people who were doing work on Shuttle or Constellation. Different types of work involved--different skill sets--and those people will have to go elsewhere.

Because I support communication efforts and the Ares Projects' Manager, and also because I'm a bit of a know-it-all, some folks have asked me, "Have you heard anything [about the future state of Constellation]?" or "What do you think is going to happen?" Answer: not a clue, save what I've said above, and all that is pretty obvious. Do I know concretely what will happen to the budget or the workforce? Nope. Just riding it out one day at a time. Stay tuned. No doubt there will be more drama to follow.

NASA Budget

I've gotten a variety of requests/questions over the last couple of days wanting to know what I thought was going to happen with the NASA budget and whether I have any special insights or perspectives. Insights? No. I get my information from the internet or (worse) NASAWatch, like the rest of the agency. As far as my perspective, it boils down to this: until NASA gets told to cease and desist on Constellation and do something else, I will continue to do my job as well as I am able. I think Steve Cook, former Ares Projects Manager, has this one exactly right: the President's budget submission is the beginning, not the end of the debate. Those of us fortunate and crazy enough to work for NASA directly are in for another 6 months of suspense...or more. How do you keep a space geek in suspense? I'll tell you after the budget passes.

Potpourri CI

The Ares Projects were supposed to have the first static (ground) test of the five-segment solid rocket motor. Unfortunately, the computer shut down the countdown 20 seconds before firing due to a problem with the auxiliary power unit in the thrust vector control system. If that sounded like Greek to you, it doesn't really matter. The test was stopped because of a problem, which can happen when it's a test, but of course NASAWatch's Keith Cowing will probably be working overtime tonight, wallowing in the "joy" (for him) of a perceived problem with Ares.

Oh, yes: and the Ares Projects Manager, Steve Cook, is resigning from the agency. Interesting times indeed. One wonders what tomorrow will bring.

Some articles/podcasts from the National Academies Press on communicating about science:

• Science for All Seasons: Communicating Science to Diverse Audiences
• Information and Misinformation at the Speed of Light
• Science and Hollywood: Education Through Entertainment

Florida Today has a good summary of the most likely options the Augustine Panel is going to offer to President Obama regarding human spaceflight. It's focused on its impact on Florida's "Space Coast" (Kennedy Space Center), but is still a useful read.

From my NASA PAO feed, an academic scholarship opportunity:

NASA ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR AERONAUTICS SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate will begin accepting scholarship applications on Sept. 1, 2009, for the 2010 academic year. The application deadline is Jan. 11, 2010.

"These scholarships are a fantastic way to support our brightest students and encourage them to finish their education, expose them to NASA's research programs and inspire them to pursue a career in aeronautics," said Jaiwon Shin, associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA expects to award 20 undergraduate and five graduate scholarships to students in aeronautics or related fields. Undergraduate students entering their second year of study will receive up to $15,000 per year for two years and the opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend by interning at a NASA research center during the summer. Graduate students will receive up to $35,000 per annually for up to three years, with an opportunity to receive a $10,000 stipend interning at a NASA research center up to two consecutive summers.

Students who have not committed to a specific academic institution or program still may apply. However, if accepted, they must be admitted by fall 2010 into a suitable aeronautical engineering program or related field of study at an accredited U.S. university. All applicants must be U.S. citizens. Scholarship money may be used for tuition and other school-related expenses.

NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate conducts cutting-edge, fundamental research in traditional and emerging disciplines. The intent is to help transform the nation's air transportation system and to support development of future air and space vehicles. Goals include improving airspace capacity and flexibility; aviation safety and aircraft performance; reducing overall noise, engine emissions and fuel usage.

For details about this scholarship program, including how to apply, visit: http://asee.org/nasaasp

From Lin:

• Newt Gingrich on why government can't and shouldn't run health care.
• The Democrats are going to use the death of Senator Ted Kennedy to push through nationalized health care.

Dominick Dunne, an astute and clever writer with a unique niche--crime and punishment among America's upper class--has passed away. A shame. His abiding sense of justice, fueled by his daughter's murder, gave his fiction a fierce quality quite at odds with his restrained, upper-crusty characters. A great writer.

Popular Mechanics has an article about SpaceX.

Want to know the average internet connection speed in your neighborhood? Check this out.

A story from my old home town of Lombard, Illinois: a little "incident" at the fire department. Whups!

From Gwen: a story by CNN that beer prices are likely to go up due to "commodity" prices. Reading between the lines, beer prices are going up because energy (petroleum) prices are going up, and you need petroleum/hydrocarbons to make fuel for tractors and chemicals for fertilizer. This is why we need to pump more oil.

Did you know Cheryl Ladd (of Charlie's Angels fame) had her own web site? Well, jeez, who doesn't?

Oh yeah--and score one more for the Science Cheerleader! Darlene was profiled on her local (Philadelphia) CBS affiliate. Gooooo Dar!

Potpourri XC

I'm back on duty after visiting with my family over the weekend. I was glad that they came. We just hung out together to celebrate my b-day, and I was able to disconnect a little bit from the usual wackiness that fills my day. Huzzah! Now that I'm back online, I've got a bunch of links and notes to share, so off we go...

Need a sign to hold if you choose to show up at a Tea Party rally or a congressional town hall? Lin recommends this. Some protesting needs to be done, because the healthcare bill the President and Congress want to push is bad for the country. Protest loudly, however, and you're a mob. Protest politely, and you're shouted down or intimidated by union guys or your character and motivations are impugned. Frustrating.

Also from Lin:

• An editorial on some of these town hall meetings, and a video of one of the town halls that turned nasty.
• The Onion has a creepy satire on an alternative means of dealing with the federal debt.
• The Obama Administration hopes to reform the nationwide efforts used to deal with illegal immigrants. Any bets on a presidential pardon?
• A Huffington Post (left-wing) look at the Beer Summit.

New from Hu: another article about the Augustine Human Space Flight Panel. This Wednesday will be the last public meeting of the Panel. We might learn what options the HSF Panel will offer, and maybe not. Their final report will be due August 31. Of course as my buddy Doc pointed out, even if Augustine, et al., issue their report at the end of this month, it'll be a few months before Obama makes any decision, and then longer than that for the effects to be felt within NASA. I'm not so sure about that last point, but we'll see.

From Father Dan:

• Some color therapy.
• Another article on Congress's budget for new private jets.
• A Peggy Noonan editorial on the ugly tone of the healthcare debate.
• YouTube video from NewsBusted. Sounds like it's got a bad laugh track.

From Gwen, a story on a Texas prisoner who was caught hiding a weapon in the rolls of his fat. Yuck.

Former Bush Administration Science Advisor John Marburger testified before the Augustine Panel on the shape of the Constellation Program. His remarks are worth reading, though I must take issue with one of his statements:

NASA decision-making grew increasingly constrained by real budget shortfalls created in part by larger than estimated return to flight costs for the Shuttle.

Marburger overlooks the fact that those "real budget shortfalls" were, in fact, the result of both the Congress and the Bush Administration not requesting the money Constellation needed to do the job it was assigned to do. Oh yeah, and Marburger was part of the Bush Administration making the NASA budget decisions! Mike Griffin paid politically for daring to speak this unpleasant truth aloud, and he no longer holds the NASA Administrator's position.

'Tis the season for the Perseid meteor shower, which is caused by the Earth passing through the tail of the Swift-Tuttle comet. Look to the skies!

The Kepler telescope has proven that it can find Earth-size planets around other stars. Now it just needs to start finding them around stars we haven't investigated before.

The last of the Futures Channel videos on Ares has been posted. It covers the outreach team that puts together videos, conference papers, collateral pieces, posters, etc., for the Ares Projects. In short, the team Your Humble Narrator works on. While I was not put on camera for this video, my buddies Jason, Camille, and Wayne do a great job of explaining what we do for a living. Huzzah!

That should do for now. 27 days until Europe.

Potpourri LXXXIII

Moving right along...

WFTV in Orlando covers job loss issues at Kennedy Space Center.

Brother Karl's dad is at Oshkosh and managed to get a decent pic of WhiteKnightTwo.

Darlene the Science Cheerleader is promoting the Future City competition, which encourages kids to think about technology and social issues in a real-world environment. I attended this competition last year and was suitably impressed with the kids' ingenuity. This year's task/theme is "Providing An Affordable Living Space For People Who Have Lost Their Home Due to a Disaster or Financial Emergency." This could be handled very simply, in my mind: coffin/capsule hotels brought in on semi-trailers. They're very tiny, limited in their drain on the environment, and tiny/uncomfortable enough that people will get themselves out of them and off the government dole as soon as possible just to get on with their lives. Just sayin'.

The Futures Channel has another video out on the Ares Projects.

Fred Thompson has an interview with Betsy McCoy, a patient advocate who provided much of the ammunition to bring down the Clinton nationalized healthcare plan.

The Cash for Clunkers deal has a hitch--some deals have been stopped because the EPA changed the gas mileage rules, effectively preventing some people with "clunkers" from getting their check. This sort of thing would never happen if the government ran the healthcare system, of course.

In the midst of the Augustine Panel swirl, the Mars Society is holding its annual citizen-lobbying blitz to press for Mars exploration.

Florida Today reviews yesterday's Augustine Panel discussion.

More on The Swirl and other topics from Melissa:

• http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/aw051109p2.xml&headline=Interview%20With%20Norm%20Augustine&channel=awst
• http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1374/1
• http://independentbroadmindedcentrist.blogspot.com/2009/07/augustines-comments-to-nac.html
• http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/22/734397/-Support-NASA,-Mr.-President
• http://sirenschronicles.com/2009/06/30/nasa-is-at-a-crossroads/
• http://www.hpcdan.org/reeds_ruminations/2008/10/the-long-race-f.html
• http://thespacereview.com/article/1370/1
• http://www.space.com/opinionscolumns/opinions/park_000211.html
• http://www.thespacereview.com/article/345/1

Even more on Augustine... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090729/ap_on_sc/us_nasa_future

This one from the Down Under Defense Expert (DUDE). Ick: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99OAQ2G1&show_article=1

Some intriguing links from Jerry Pournelle's site:

• NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has an Asteroid Watch blog.
• A case against climate hysteria. Speaking of which, members of the American Chemical Society are revolting against the call for immediate action on global warming. Also, a summary of the one-sided spending on climate research.
• Some potential for thorium reactors: a long speech and the PowerPoint presentation that goes with it.
• A reminder on Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy.
• A model of a battleship based on Orion (the nuclear pulse rocket, not the crew exploration vehicle).
• Green engineering within the Air Force.
• North Korea using its developmentally challenged children as test subjects. Sick. However, this story does come from Al-Jazeera...not sure why I should believe anything these guys say now when I've been more than dubious about things they've said so far.
• And lastly, an illustrated poem about the Moon.

Potpourri LXXVI

Lots to type about, so let's get rolling.

NASAWatch is posting an email supposedly from Bob Ess, the Ares I-X Mission Manager, stating that the mission launch date has moved to Halloween. I'd seen an earlier date than that, but these things happen. Guess I'll get to go to Europe AND see I-X fly after all.

Some guys at the USAF's 45th Space Wing put together some incomplete/bad data, added in some bad assumptions, and voila: the Orlando Sentinel gets to pound on Ares once again. This is getting old, guys.

Investor's Business Daily has a series of editorials related to healthcare reform. One is of particular interest because it addresses a fundamental disconnect in President Obama's rhetoric. He's been saying that "If you like your current plan, you can keep it." Which is true. However, if you change jobs, change plans, or go into business for yourself, you'll find that private insurance companies are not allowed to sign new customers on to existing plans--which means, once you get out of whatever plan you're on right now, you have no choice but to take the government's plan. And the government, of course, will ration care any way it sees fit, even if you were willing to pay more. Think very hard before you decide that "nationalized health care" is a bright idea.

Charles Krauthammer, one of the brighter bulbs on Fox News, has a great editorial about Apollo titled "The Moon We Left Behind."

A tribute to Apollo using Elton John's "Rocket Man."

From Father Dan: Mathemagics? Yes!

From Melissa. Haven't reviewed all these yet, so like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get:

• http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/6-men-endure-mars-90648.html
• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=
• http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/PopularScience/4-1939/helmets.jpg&imgrefurl=
• http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/04/21/mechanics-masquerade-as-men-from-mars/&h=2787&w=1890&sz=1433&tbnid=WbBAU7fK0YR-rM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=102&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmen%2Bon%2Bmars&hl=en&usg=__cPXiz_lOkhCGY6zsa8Lzwvpjbhc=&ei=YhlhSqavLOWfmAfjr9SaDw&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image
• http://www.scifidimensions.com/Feb01/dennishope
• http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/aerospace/robotic-exploration/russians-prepare-to-go-to-mars-without-leaving-the-ground

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured photos of all of the Apollo landing sites. Cool! I wonder what the reaction would've been if the descent modules weren't there anymore. More to be found at the LRO site.

CNN decides to report on the "Moon hoax" believers.

And yet another Apollo article from Science at NASA.

WAAY TV in Huntsville posted a report on the friction stir welding going on here at Marshall.

The federal government has a business opportunity for those interested in demonstrating the value of humor in the workplace. Given the government's utter lack of humor when it comes to their little workplace regulations, that really is funny.

Dar also has a fun Apollo-related article, this one related to the American flag planted on the Moon.

From Martin: a YouTube video on laser-powered spacecraft.

Environmentalists are pro-space exploration? Maybe, I say.

Potpourri LXXIII

SpaceX successfully launched a Malaysian satellite. The nicest thing I heard some folks at work say was, "Well, he's 2 for 5." Rude.

From Gwen: a "slap-chop" rap.

New from Hu:

• Bobby Block at the Orlando Sentinel has another misinterpretation of what's going on with the Augustine Panel. In plain English, the Augustine people are asking NASA questions--as they should--and NASA is answering. A lot of what you read in Block's work beyond that is arm waving and seal clubbing.
• Frank Morring at Aviation Week, who usually gets things right, makes it sound as if the Augustine people changed their itinerary when it came to visiting sites and asking sites. However, that's all that they've ever had on their agenda. So why portray this as something different?
• Mr. Augustine is holding a press conference on the panel's work Friday.
• And there's a Space Review piece discussing some previous studies.

Other items might come to me, but that's all for now. Salud.

Oh! Here's one more from Melissa: some criticism of the Space Shuttle one year before the first launch. Puts the criticism of Ares in perspective a little bit.

Potpourri LXXI

Doc and I have been engaged in an extended discussion about the frog-marching of Sarah Palin out of the public square. The DUDE (Down Under Defense Expert) brought a Peggy Noonan column to my attention about this. As I noted in my discussion with Doc, I didn't do my due diligence on Palin's positions/papers--most of what I caught about her came from sound bytes--some good, some not so good. It appears, if one reads Noonan's column, that Palin really didn't have a lot of positions explaining the foundations of her beliefs. My choices in 2008, after my original choices dropped out of the GOP race (Thompson, Romney), were bad (McCain), mad (Paul), or frickin' sad(Obama or Clinton).

I can understand mockery, for instance Palin's flubs in interviews, but what continues to bother me is the vitriol--the visceral hatred critics displayed toward Palin and George W. Bush before her. It's one thing to disagree with one's opponents; it's another to consider them the Devil Incarnate or some retarded human being worthy only of contempt. I didn't hate Sarah Palin, nor would I mock her. I think she's a nice lady with a lot of spunk and an ability to fire up a crowd. She supported causes I agree with: pro-life, pro-oil drilling in ANWR, and pro-gun, for instance. The few speeches of hers I've heard or read seemed to articulate those views pretty well, so I don't understand the "lightweight" comments, nor do I agree with Ms. Noonan that Palin was utterly out of her depth on the issues. Might she have been better off staying off the radar in Alaska? Perhaps. But the drama is over. With any luck we can move off of Palin, Michael Jackson, and Farrah Fawcett and move back to things that actually matter, like the economy, Iran, North Korea, missile defense, etc.--you know: the issues--all of which President Obama is handling not handling well, I might add.

Rocketplane Kistler is looking at Hawaii as a possible base of operations for space tourism flights, as well as possible transportation services.

Big aerospace companies met with Senator Shelby (R-AL) to discuss their plans for supporting the Ares Projects. This line from a Shelby aide was telling: "it appeared that the aerospace contractors did not have a public support strategy." A couple of reasons for this come to mind: while Big Aero has big contracts with NASA for Ares, they might just as easily pick up other contracts if the administration decided to cancel Ares. They probably also see what kinds of negative press Shelby is getting regarding his efforts to pull money from other NASA centers that support COTS so he can protect Ares jobs in Huntsville. Mind you, I'm one of those jobs in Huntsville, and a Republican, but I think Shelby's funding games are shortsighted. We need COTS and Ares as multiple means of access to the International Space Station. I might have to write another letter.

Need a poster of the X-15 hypersonic aircraft? NASA has one you can download.

The Charles Bolden/Lori Garver confirmation hearings appeared to be a lovefest. NASA should have a new Administrator soon.

America is in no danger of being taken over by an iron-fisted tyrant. However, we might find ourselves smothered under a cloying, will-do-anything-for-you Mommy State if we're not careful. This article on cafeteria snacks also comes from the DUDE. His commentary is priceless:

In the second month after they won the election, the centre-right government down here rescinded the law passed by the previous leftist government that required government approval of what snack food would be sold in schools. The reason given, which set off days of strident yawping our nanny-staters, was that parents should be the ones to decide what foods their kids should eat.

Potpourri XXXVIII

No word from Dar yet on how my little friend is doing with her leukemia treatments. Out of respect for her family's privacy, I wasn't using her name, but Dar just posted it, so if you'd like to focus your caring, attention, and prayers, her name is Morgan, and her web site can be found here. In my ongoing efforts to "keep things in perspective," I'll try to keep the snark to a minimum this evening.

New from Hu:

• One of my previous customers over at Marshall, Dan Dumbacher, is heading to Washington to be NASA Associate Administrator. Dan has been the manager (director?) of the Engineering Directorate at the center. Smart guy, and a great advocate for space.
• NBC News is reporting that Marine Corps General (Ret.) and astronaut Charles Bolden is going to be meeting with President Obama tomorrow in a prelude to being selected as Obama's choice as the next NASA Administrator.

A link from Scott: Oprah says "It's great to have a private jet." Great. Does that mean it's socially acceptable for CEOs and companies to use them again?

From the Office of Strategic Analysis and Communication's "Communicators' Corner," a link to an article on why marketing strategies fail.

The Futures Channel has a new movie posted on the Ares Projects, based here at Marshall.

A guy I've never heard of got a chance to give a talk on his book at Lucasfilm Ltd. Guess I'll have to write a book myself...that's one way to get to the Skywalker Ranch!

Mary Lynn Dittmar is reporting on how Web 2.0 is opening up public dialogues within NASA.

Tim Bailey, one of my fellow space advocates (though a bit younger) posted this link in Facebook about how law firm partners don't understand what motivates or how to motivate Generation Y. Basically, the up-and-coming generation expects concessions to "balance" in their personal lives and that they aren't as interested in base concerns like money or regular business hours. Well, good luck, if they manage it. I belong to, and was raised by parents who went to, the School of Hard Knocks. This is this school that believes in putting in long hours, occasionally missing your kids, but doing whatever it took to get the job done right and well. That was just the expectation, for the Silent Generation, the Greatest Generation, and I'm willing to bet a lot of American generations before that. It's only with the Baby Boomers and their offspring that ideas like personal fulfillment became vogue in the workplace. This is of a piece with that quarter-life crisis thing I was ranting about the other day. If you expect to do it all and have it all (great career, great personal life, loving family, etc.), you'll either lose focus or get burned out trying to fulfill unrealistic expectations). As it happens, I'm a workaholic, but I also have passions in life--space advocacy, science and technical writing, blogging, helping friends with their resumes and career plans--that fill a great deal of my time, and quite happily so. I also manage to stay in touch with my out-of-state family and my church. Something had to give, so I'm not married. So what? Anyhow, if Gen Y wants to go easier on their work lives to spend more time at home, that's great. I'll be in my office when they get back...the boss's office, that is.

The Hubble repair mission is proceeding nicely. Good!

And just on a personal note, I got some nice comments about the proposal I wrote (with help from my HAL5 partners in crime) to bid on the 2011 ISDC. The reward for work is more hard work. Now I get to give a formal presentation at the 2009 ISDC in Orlando in two weeks. No sweat. Need one dog, one pony, and a couple of Vannas.

Potpourri XXVII

The usual mishmash of stuff from the worlds of space, philosophy, politics, management, and sheer oddness. Enjoy.

We've got Web 2.0, so what would Space 2.0 look like? This editorial in The Space Review offers some insight.

Another one from The Space Review, this one on space solar power. I get differing reactions to SSP in the space community, everything from "It'll save humanity!" to "That's an utter crock!" However, no one is saying don't try it.

I wonder what the Southern word for "chutzpah" is. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) has been rejecting suggestion after suggestion for the next NASA administrator; now he's complaining that the Obama administration is taking too long to nominate one. Dude, make up your mind.

The Ares Projects and Ares I-X flight test are both on Twitter now. So is the National Space Society. If you're not transmitting over multiple channels, you might be missing your audience, it seems.

Tip o' the fedor to Daphne for this one: What your boss uses to decorate the office might say a lot about him (or her).

H/T to Melissa for this: Ron Paul has a bold suggestion for clearing the pirates off the Horn of Africa: reinstitute letters of marque to anyone willing to bring 'em in dead or alive. That'll never happen, of course. Obama believes the government must do all things--subcontracting out offends him, I think. Jerry Pournelle suggests enforcing the Somalis' fishing rights off their coastal waters. Apparently the Chinese have been overfishing the area, leaving the local fishermen little to do but turn to piracy. The question, as Pournelle rightly points out, is: how far will we go to defend Somalia's fishing rights?

Could Universal Studios and Sea World team up in Orlando? Stranger things have happened, I guess.

Apparently it's getting harder and harder to screw up so badly that teachers or school administrators will fail students. An "F" was always treated as a warning shot across the bow in my family--get one on a test or some homework, and it was a sign that you needed to sit up, pay attention, and do the frickin' work! Apparently that's too traumatic. Pity.

Space.com has a story about Ares I-X. I'm always pleased to see when people get their facts right.

New from Hu: Swine flu is now a health emergency. Let's be careful out there--wash your frickin' hands, for gosh sakes! And then there was this warning that hit my inbox at work today.

NASA Occupational Health Alert - April 27, 2009

Within the past week human cases of a potentially new strain of the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the U.S. and Mexico. As of April 27, there are now confirmed cases in five states (California, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, New York). Internationally, human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in Mexico andSpain, with testing of ill travelers from Mexico being conducted in New Zealand. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling this "a public health emergency of international concern." The current phase of the WHO Global Influenza Preparedness is Level 3 Pandemic alert: a new influenza virus subtype is causing disease in humans, but is not yet spreading efficiently and sustainably among humans. The WHO Emergency Committee isreportedly scheduled to meet later today to consider raising the pandemic alert level.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), WHO, state, and local health authorities are working closely together, increasing surveillance and assessing the potential threat to public health. Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the infection and whether additional people have been infected with similar swine influenza viruses. The CDC has determined that the virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human but how easily the virus spreads between people is not known at this time.

We are in the very early stages of learning about this potential emerging health threat. At this time we know that this illness is the Influenza A virus and can spread from human to human through coughing or sneezing ofinfected people. It is not known how easily it spreads between people.

Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of the swine flu are similar to the symptoms ofregular human flu. The symptoms of swine flu can vary in severity from mildto severe. Symptoms include fever, body aches, sore throats, headaches, chills and coughing. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting. Like human influenza, swine flu can lead to pneumonia and respiratory failure and can worsen underlying chronic medical conditions.

Spread of Infection
The main way influenza viruses are thought to spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. This can happen when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby. Influenza viruses may also be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets onanother person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose (orsomeone else's mouth or nose) before washing their hands. The swine flu can spread in two ways:
- Through contact with infected pigs or environments contaminated with swine flu viruses.
- Through contact with a person with swine flu.

People ill with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and up to 7 days following the onset of illness.

Seek Medical Treatment
If you become ill with influenza-like symptoms, you may want to contact yourhealth care provider. Your health care provider will determine whether influenza testing or treatment is needed. The swine flu can be treated with antiviral medicals. IF YOU ARE SICK, YOU SHOULD STAY HOME AND AVOID CONTACT WITH OTHER PEOPLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO KEEP FROM SPREADING YOUR ILLNESS TO OTHERS.

Emergency warning signs that require urgent medical attended include:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
- Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen.
- Sudden dizziness.
- Confusion.
- Severe or persistent vomiting.

Self Care
- Check with your health care provider about any special care you might need if you are pregnant or have a health condition such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, or emphysema.
- Check with your health care provider about whether you should take antiviral medications.
- If influenza is confirmed by your health care provider, or if you develop signs and symptoms consistent with influenza that resolve without medical care, stay home for 7 days after the start of illness and fever are gone.
- Get plenty of rest.
- Drink clear fluids (such as water, broth, sports drinks) to keep from being dehydrated.
- Be watchful for emergency warning signs (see above) that might indicate you need to seek medical attention immediately.

Prevention
There are many things you can to do to prevent getting and spreading influenza:
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

For Updates and the Most Current Information Visit the Following Sites:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu
World Health Organization; http://www.who.int/en
NASA Occupational Health Web sit:e http://www.ohp.nasa.gov
NASA Occupational Medicine Pandemic Plan: http://www.ohp.nasa.gov/policies/index.html
Department of State International Travel Information Web Site: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis_pa_tw_1168.html

Consider yourself warned. Now go wash your hands!

Also from Hu: This could come back to shoot you in the arse: a robotic sniper, named the Autonomous Rotorcraft Sniper System (ARSS). Sleep tight!

Latest on Ares from The Futures Channel

The second installment of The Futures Channel's profile on Ares can be found here. These folks do a pretty good job. The first part in the series is here.

Potpourri XX

Just to start things off, my buddy Doc gave me a link to a Wikipedia article on where Kindle users can find free content. He also pointed out that the Kindle and Kindle 2 use the "AZW" file format, though they can also use other formats, including PDFs and Word docs, as well as electronic book files for older machines. Good to know. Gotta love free stuff.

This link comes from Nick Skytland: Four Ways to Increase the Urgency for Change. It's a Harvard Business Publishing article and is meant to focus on preventing organizations from growing complacent. Some food for thought there.

Business aviation companies are using Twitter to reach out to customers. I like this option. Of course 140 characters might just be enough advertising to stay off the Obama Administration's radar, so to speak. After all, if they become too public, they or their customers might get slapped with a 90% tax on something.

Speaking of the Obama administration, the work of creating dependence and ruining the economy continues.

Stephen Colbert did NOT get his wish to name the new International Space Station note after him. Instead, he got a treadmill and acronym named after him: Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT). Serves him right. I'm not a fan of Colbert, and don't feel terribly bad about him not getting his way. The Machiavellian in me thinks NASA could've used the marketing boost. Someone said NASA is saying no to democracy. I liked my buddy Martin's take on the issue: "When the kids can name a pig prom queen, it's time to close down the pageant."

Taylor Dinerman has a good editorial on The Space Review on Ares I-X. A couple of nits, which I wasn't able to post on that site for unknown reasons, are that he calls the flight "Ares 1-X" and he overlooked the importance of recovering the first stage from the flight. But all in all, Mr. Dinerman got things right, and that's a good thing.

Some satisfaction for folks here at Marshall Space Flight Center: the drug user who police pursued on a high-speed chase through MSFC and who killed a NASA employee last year has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

And finally, The Futures Channel has a great video promoting a new educational series focusing on the Ares Projects. It includes a lot of folks I work with at MSFC, including Jason, one of my fellow writers. Huzzah!

Potpourri XVIII

Never mind space, Obama, or the economy: "V" is making a comeback!

NASA eClips has a very cool education-focused video about Ares I-X on YouTube.

Someone's made a graphic novel about Apollo 11 called "T-Minus." How'd I miss this??

NASA.gov has a copious collection of Great Moonbuggy Race pictures.

Interested in tracking your popularity or "reach" on Twitter? My wiki guru Nick passed on these links for future reference:

• http://TweetDeck.com
• http://hootsuite.com
• http://twittercounter.com
• http://www.twitalyzer.com
• http://hashtags.org

Back to politics for a moment: President Obama is going to start pushing a bill through Congress that would make illegal immigrants legal. Why not just open all the borders and be done with it? I'm all for legal immigration. My family wouldn't be here without it. But they played by the rules, became citizens, learned the language, and educated their kids and grandkids to become Americans, and we're all the better for it.

Boeing is looking to cut production of some of its airliners due to the economic slowdown. This isn't a good thing. Boeing's commercial airliners are one of the few things keeping America's trade deficit from falling deep into the sewer.

Some folks think that if Ares/Orion can't be completed on time that we should hitch a ride with the Chi-coms. Right, because they're MUCH more reliable partners than the Russkis. At least we know Soyuz can dock with ISS.

The "who's going to be the next NASA administrator?" game continues. Wouldn't it be better if Obama had a policy first? Of course he did throw $400 million more at Constellation as part of the stimulus bill, so it appears that he's sticking with the Bush policy for the moment. Fine by me. Leave Scolese in charge, and let NASA do its job!

The Ares Projects have been holding a TIM (technical interchange meeting--can't do anything without an acronym, ya know) this week on the thrust oscillation issue on Ares I. There's a pretty decent, though rather techie, blog on the Constellation site.

Potpourri X

Lots of thought-provoking stuff out there, so I'll jump right into it:

NASA

• NASA is offering content for people to develop do-it-yourself podcasts.
• The three-year progress report for the Ares Projects is now available as a two-part video on YouTube.
• The Great Moonbuggy Race will be running at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center this weekend.
• The Futures Channel partnered with the Ares outreach team to develop some videos on careers at NASA.

Other Space Stuff

• Also, April 4 is Yuri's Night, an annual celebration of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin. The actual day is April 12, but Easter falls on April 12 this year, so the organizers moved it. Huntsville's Yuri's Night event will be at LeeAnn's downtown.
• The Coalition for Space Exploration has announced its Board of Advisors for 2009-2010.
• The Space Access Conference is happening soon.
• The National Space Society's International Space Development Conference is also coming soon!

The Economy

• President Obama says the U.S. Government will now cover any warranty-based maintenance for owners of GM cars. But I'm told on Facebook that I need to "calm down" because "capitalism is fine." Riiiiight.
• Congressman Barney Frank is proposing a bill that would set caps on all employee salaries at AIG, not just the CEO. "Calm down, Bart. Capitalism is just fine." Riiiiiight.

Technology

• Honda is developing thought-controlled machines. Wild.
• The Chi-coms are working on a "kill weapon" for targeting aircraft carriers. Oh, goody.

Politics & Culture

• One of my favorite Law & Order actresses, Angie Harmon, is sick of being called a "racist" because she disagrees with President Obama's policies. Welcome to the club, Angie. I got this accusation shortly after Election Day, and still find it offensive.
• Venezuela-born Miss Universe had a great time at Guantanamo Bay.
• Some advice for Gen Yers entering the workforce in Washington.
• Hat tip to D2 for this item on evaluating "employee engagement" in the workplace.
• Darlene the Science Cheerleader has been in contact with a congressman interested in reviving the Office of Technology Assessment.
• On the lighter side of things, a man in Ohio was arrested for driving drunk on a motorized bar stool.
• An interesting question from one of my acquaintances on LinkedIn.com:

"Is the concept of "Tough Love" at the root of society's problems or is it their answer?"

Some argue "spare the rod, spoil the child" and it seems to me that the underlying philosophy in this also lies in some of the advice on how best to deal with the current economic crisis. But is the deterministic righteousness of tough love the root problem in many and diverse areas of our societies, or is it rather the belief in the "Noble Savage" and laissez-faire indulgence? Or are both just perversions of love, part self-loathing part narcissism?

• An interesting video on the mayor of Missassauga, Ontario. We should all be so good at 88!
• I got hip-deep into a long conversation about capitalism, Obama, etc. on Facebook last night ("Calm down, Bart..."), so I decided to change my status as a way of getting free of the argument. I changed my status to "Bart is moving on to another topic." Some FB friends offered the following alternatives:
  --"I've got a topic...Socialism"
  --"How about the right to privacy issues?"
  --"Eminent domain?"
  --"The topic is me. All about me! ME, ME, ME!!!!"
  
  The last answer was offered by my buddy Gwen. I opted for her answer, as I was too tired at that point to offer alternatives. I promised I'd address some of these in the blog. I will, just not right now. More to come...

Potpourri

I like this subject line, which appears occasionally as a topic in Jeopardy. It's a catch-all name that incorporates a variety of wild stuff. In that spirit, then, I offer some of the stuff that has come to me from friends, coworkers, readers, and other wild folk (these tend to overlap):

Niccolo Machiavelli on Change Management:

It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order; this lukewarmness arising partly from the incredulity of mankind who does not truly believe in anything new until they actually have experience of it.

An interesting article by Mike Wright, the Marshall Space Flight Center Historian, on the world's most expensive lawn ornaments: http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/saturn_apollo/display.html

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John McCain is assuming the role of the late Senator William Proxmire in railing against frivolous government spending on science: http://www.the-scientist.com/community/posts/list/411.page

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The Ares Projects have their own FlickR page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/ares/

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Social Media and Public Relations: http://www.pr-squared.com/jedi.html

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The Cult of Done Manifesto. You might have to have lived this one to fully appreciate it, but it is quite real.

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An online, non-profit archive dedicated to saving...well, darn near everything: http://www.archive.org/index.php

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And, darn it, Doc sent me one more link, but I didn't forward it from work. Heck with it, I'll post it tomorrow. The internet continues to surprise me: there are good things to be found, but there is also a lot of crud. Calls to mind [Theodore] Sturgeon's Law:

90% of science fiction is crud. But then, 90% of everything is crud.

NASA Joins the 21st Century

The Constellation Program and Ares I-X flight test now have blogs. Did I have something to do with their content? Only The Shadow knows.

http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Constellation

http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares%20I-X

Enjoy!