Potpourri LXXVII

All sorts of Apollo 11 and other space stuff today (and rightly so!):

• An Australian newspaper on the prospects for space.


• Neil Armstrong reflected on those who gave their lives in the quest for space.


• Ares V imagery.


• Alan Stern on the greatest impact Apollo 11 had.


• Apollo seen by another writer as a dead end rather than a great beginning.
• Jeff Foust reviews several Apollo 11-related books.
• Best moon landings in movies.
• It looks like the Augustine Panel's public meeting in Huntsville has moved to July 29.
• NASA released a Neil Armstrong statement on the death of Walter Cronkite:
  "For a news analyst and reporter of the happenings of the day to be successful, he or she needs three things: accuracy, timeliness, and the trust of the audience. Many are fortunate to have the first two. The trust of the audience must be earned.
  "Walter Cronkite seemed to enjoy the highest of ratings. He had a passion for human space exploration, an enthusiasm that was contagious, and the trust of his audience. He will be missed."
• Popular Mechanics has a series of "untold stories" about Apollo 11.
• Space.com has several good stories, including this one...
• Apollo astronauts advocating trip to Mars.
• From Martin, an AOL list of fun space facts.
• And Darlene the Science Cheerleader has a nice roundup of some other Apollo 11 links.

Some stuff from Lin:

• The White House is delaying its budget report.
• This mind-bending financial bail-out could top $23 trillion in cost.
• "Earmark" is now part of the dictionary. Oh, goody. Another unwelcome addition to the vocabulary.
• An editorial recommends making businesses use electronic background checks of immigrants, illegal or otherwise, if only to verify that they're not on the DHS terrorism watch list. Maybe, says I. However, the watch list remains unreliable.
• Amazon.com can wipe out books from your Kindle if they find something amiss with them. Hmmmm.

From Cousin Katherine, a travel planning site recommendation. This might've been useful for the Europe trip when I was earlier in my process. Still might be good for future trips.

The wickedly funny gnomes at NeedCoffee.com are trying to wean themselves off of advertising by going to a subscription-only site as a means of paying their bills...at least the bills having to do with running the site itself. It's a reasonably sound business model: Jerry Pournelle runs Chaos Manor in this fashion--sort of like PBS. My fellow SF geek Doc, a part-time contributor to Need Coffee, referred me to the site, and I have been pleasantly amused with their content. NC is a media review site, if by "media" one can include items as diverse as TV shows, movies, video games, YouTube videos, and caffeineated energy drinks. Their rates are reasonable (starting at $1/month) and their range of attitudes and opinions suitably entertaining that even a cranky GenX conservative like me can laugh at their stuff on a regular basis.

Book Review: NewSpace Nation

Here's a clever way to get your political tract out to the public: put it on Kindle and charge a few bucks. I say clever only to the extent that I allowed myself to be persuaded to buy it (Kindle really IS bad for impulse book buyers).

So what do you get for your $4.99 (more than I paid for the complete works of Aristotle, Plato, or the King James Bible, by the way)? Basically, you are treated to a part-philosophical (libertarian), part-economic tract that discusses the basics and virtues of "New Space" companies--that is, smaller entrepreneurial firms formed in the last 10-15 years that are not making the bulk of their money through government contracts.

This unique economic niche includes groups like the Rocket Racing League (and the companies producing their racers and engines), Zero-G Corporation, and Virgin Galactic (which is hardly "small" in the financing sense, given Sir Richard Branson's deep pockets--a point Mr. Krukin hedges by noting that defining a "NewSpace" company is sometimes more art than science).

Each section cites the company web site and other details. Essentially what you've got here is a handy marketing brochure for the private space industry, albeit a brochure that you pay for.

For people unfamiliar with the libertarian point of view, the author Jeff Krukin describes the advantages of this new upstart segment of a 50-year-old industry as follows:

• Market segmentation
• Emphasis on private customers rather than cost-plus government contracts
• Free, expanding markets / economic development
• Job creation
• The simple focus on profit rather than maintaining political support, which is an annual battle for NASA
• New resources

Perhaps now is a good time for a tract like this, given the government's increasing desire to downplay capitalism in favor of government regulation of industries. Gosh knows I'm a big fan of capitalism, and miss it more every day. However, this text is a little overpriced, given its length--430 "locations" (pages) at the font size I use--and the much lower price for much longer products on the Kindle site. Still, it's a good thing to have, if only as a reference for keeping one's message short, punchy, and to the point. A- for message, C+ for execution and price/value.

What's on YOUR Kindle?

A few people have asked me what's on my Kindle now that I have one. Here's the list as of 6 p.m. this evening, alphabetically by title (you can order them that way, alphabetically by author, or by most recently used).

• Alongside Night, J. Neil Schulman
• Anti-Federalist Papers, George Clinton, et al.
• Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy, Thomas Sowell
• Classic Philosophy: Complete Dialogues of Plato, Plato
• The Complete Works of Shakespeare, William Shakespeare
• Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville
• The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
• Holy Bible, New International Version
• An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith
• King James Bible
• Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
• Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
• The Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu
• The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith
• The Wall Street Journal
• Works of Aristotle, Aristotle

Yes, it's heavy on big books and philosophy, but that's the direction my mind runs these days. I spend all day with science, engineering, and space, so I need more down-to-earth reading in my free time. At which point some of my friends wonder why I don't read lust-in-the-dust novels or something "fun." To which I would answer simply that their interests are not mine.

There's also this illuminating episode I read awhile back on philosophy. John Foster Dulles, U.S. Secretary of State and once legal clerk to the eminent jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, came to visit the old man in his sick bed. Holmes asked Dulles to read to him from Plato's Symposium. At some point, Dulles asked why they were reading this book, to which Holmes said testily, "To broaden our minds, sonny." That's as good an answer as any.

Mind you, I might not read EVERYTHING on the Kindle, any more than I've read every book on my bookshelf. I tend to recycle or toss the unread ones when the shelves get to overflowing. However, I do suffer occasionally from "Kindle guilt" from not reading all the stuff I've bought (as opposed to "DVR guilt" that people get from saving TV shows on TiVo and then not watching them. I don't get "guilt" unless it's a rather hefty price tag. For instance, the Sowell book I just bought will most likely move to the head of the line, as it's the first Kindle purchase I've made that's over $20. Most of the philosophy books and the Bibles were all <$5 a piece and are in the pile for reference, not for immediate reading. My favorite and most useful purchase--and the one that gives me the most guilt if I don't read it--is my subscription to the Wall Street Journal, since that's now $14.99 a month.

Otherwise, my Kindle is becoming a collection of philosophy, religion, and other deep thoughts, and I'm good with that. Who knows? Someday I might find time to write something of my own and get it published for the Kindle. Of course by that time, everything will be downloaded into my head via installed chip, right?

Potpourri XLVI

Lori Garver, a former Associate Administrator for NASA and also a former National Space Society Executive Director, was been selected by President Obama to be the Deputy Administrator for NASA. I consider that a good thing.

From Jon S., a link re: Lego releasing designs by Frank Lloyd Wright. Woo hoo!

From Father Dan, a YouTube video on a very cool VW factory in Dresden.

Speaking of Germany, if you'd like to get an American's perspective on living in Germany, I highly recommend checking out the podcasts of my friend Jennifer. She's a fun person I went to UCF with backindaday who is now a wife and mother over in Deutschland, and she has a very soothing voice. She'd be great on NPR (and I mean that in a good way).

My buddy (and "work wife") Erika is running in the Cotton Row run tomorrow. Guess I'd better show up.

The price for my Kindle Wall Street Journal subscription went up to $14.99 per month. That's one thing I suppose I can look forward to if I want to pay for content. Sigh. Still a darned good newspaper.

Just saw this on Facebook, and found it sufficiently interesting to add. This site offers different ways to track quantifiable data available on the web. I'll have to play with it some more before I make any comment on its usefulness or uselessness.

Quiet weekend, so I'll let it drop there. Looking forward to a reasonably quiet Monday, even though I have more work to do on HAL5's pitch for ISDC 2011. Draft done, anyway. Progress!

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 XIX

Jeez, I spend one day away from the blog, and I'm flooded with interesting stuff! That'll teach me. I do have a lot of stuff to post this evening, but before I get into the usual space and smashmouth, you've got to go see this lady sing on YouTube. If only "American Idol" was this classy, I might watch it once. Okay, back to the usual foolishness...

An article in The Atlantic on education, and Jerry Pournelle's comments afterward.

Congratulations due to Your Humble Narrator: There have been several stories on this. According to the Department of Homeland Security, I am now considered a likely right-wing nut-job terrorist. Okay, not me specifically, but apparently people like me or vaguely like me. Here is the specific footnote from Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment:

Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups--not me, wait for it), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority (this would be me, on several issues), or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

What should have been said is "those that are violently antigovernment, rejecting federal authority..." etc. And there's this problem: there are millions of Americans who believe that the federal government has exceeded its authority as stated in the Constitution:

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

I don't hoard guns, wear a sheet, hate immigrants, bomb abortion clinics, or use vile words to describe our President. Nevertheless, that is how people who think like me are being portrayed by this innocuous footnote. It's disgusting and rude and paints with too broad a brush. I've got friends I disagree with on a multitude of issues, covering all the items listed above, but I don't consider them candidates to become left-wing terrorists. I hope someone in DHS takes the time to scrub their verbiage next time they write one of these reports.

Saw this link from one of the folks on Facebook: a seminar on open collaboration in government.

NASA is offering the opportunity for people to vote on the agency's greatest contributions to the environment.

Thanks to Doc and another reader for pointing out that there are free books out there for Kindle buyers. I "bought" Red Mars for $0.00 yesterday. Woo hoo!

I'm getting some requests to do more pro bono work for the Mars Foundation's Mars Education Center. I haven't said yes to all of the requests, but some of the smaller jobs. If you're interested in a Mars-themed educational experience, this is a project worth pursuing.

Darlene the Science Cheerleader has referenced a link to policy fellowships for scientists and engineers.

Some rich guys in Hong Kong have built Noah's Ark according to the specifications noted in Genesis Chapter 6.

California's largest utility has made a deal to purchase electrical power from a company promising to build a solar power satellite.

Fedora tip to Tracy for these:

• A decent article on Hubble.
• A book on "Generation Me," explaining what's afflicting Generation Y.
• An editorial by Seth Shostak on the realistic chances for deep space exploration. This one will not make my space settlement buddies happy, but it deserves to be considered.

NASA is supposed to send astronaut Suni Williams onto The Colbert Report to announce the name of the so-far-unnamed new node of the International Space Station. Finally. Put this foolishness to rest. I'm bored by it. I have a feeling this won't be the end of the matter, regardless of what decision is made.

Mike Griffin is taking an "eminent scholar" position at the Unviersity of Alabama in Huntsville. Maybe now I can get a copy of his book signed. It's actually a pretty useful book.

Hat-tip to Hu for these: some more speculation on what the latest DoD budget will mean for our military. Also here, here, here, and here.

And another from Hu, this one on robotics: MIT students develop a robot capable of caring for tomato plants.

And, to close this edition of potpourri, a little guerrilla theater, Sound of Music style. Tip o' the fedora to Father Dan for this. Have a splendid evening!