(no subject)
for some reason my sex drive is actually becoming INCREASINGLY insatiable now that i have a girlfriend. this is some cruel joke being played on me. this cant be natural; do they make a pill thats the opposite of viagra?
exciting schedule of events on the science front. climate change legislation in the works, just passed congress. sponsored by Barbara Boxer, the ever-faithful California defender of the environment, the bill sets carbon emission limits and creates a national cap-and-trade framework. an outright carbon tax would probably be more effective, but like the problem of doing a gas tax instead of increasing mpg standards, it wont fly in our anti-tax culture. the bill would have been killed in comittee if not for Republican John Warner, the lifelong senator from Virginia. that cat is all over the place, but i have a mad respect for him. he does shit that pisses me off all the time, but then turns around and compromises when its crunch time.
NASA: (1) the DAWN mission to Ceres launches July 7th. Ceres is the dwarf planet (planetoid?) in the asteroid belt. its actually going to another, smaller asteroid first, making it the first mission to visit two asteroids/planetoids. important questions to ask - is there water in Ceres? how old is it? are there heavy elements that can be readily extracted? where my platinum at? (2) the Phoenix mission to Mars launches in August. its a lander, not a rover, unique for its new landing method. rocket jets on the bottom of it slow its ascent to a gentle touchdown. theoretically. then it scoops up some soil and analyzes it, drills a little bit, takes pictures, and sits there doing dick. its only being launched because its so fucking cheap and NASA needs the publicity. im against missions that arent taking big leaps. NASA cant afford to lose its balls now, with the Vision still in its infancy. (3) second shuttle launch of the year in August. this one is bringing up the final truss segment, which is like the skeletal frame of the ISS. which means from here on out, all the other missions to the ISS will be to bring up connecting modules or new laboratory pieces, the elements that actually realize our $100+ billion investment. supposedly after 2016 the ISS is going to become a National Scientific Lab, which means private industry can use it for experimentation, and undoubtedly more tourism. i wonder if Virgin Space is developing docking capability to the ISS? we could be seeing 3-day stays in the next decade for only $1 million. dont laugh, thats actually a bargain.
in other legislation, immigration reform round 2 is about to be voted on. we shall see if that happens. oh, and Bush/Cheney co. are being subpoened again, this time about the FISA warrentless wiretapping. im glad somebody remembered that shit, at the time it really upset me. now its sooo pre-30% approval ratings. 26% to be exact. and the whole "non-executive branch" claim thing is making some decent headlines too. the possibility of impeachment for cheney at least seems quite possible now. if only if only if only there were a goddamn sex scandal!
exciting schedule of events on the science front. climate change legislation in the works, just passed congress. sponsored by Barbara Boxer, the ever-faithful California defender of the environment, the bill sets carbon emission limits and creates a national cap-and-trade framework. an outright carbon tax would probably be more effective, but like the problem of doing a gas tax instead of increasing mpg standards, it wont fly in our anti-tax culture. the bill would have been killed in comittee if not for Republican John Warner, the lifelong senator from Virginia. that cat is all over the place, but i have a mad respect for him. he does shit that pisses me off all the time, but then turns around and compromises when its crunch time.
NASA: (1) the DAWN mission to Ceres launches July 7th. Ceres is the dwarf planet (planetoid?) in the asteroid belt. its actually going to another, smaller asteroid first, making it the first mission to visit two asteroids/planetoids. important questions to ask - is there water in Ceres? how old is it? are there heavy elements that can be readily extracted? where my platinum at? (2) the Phoenix mission to Mars launches in August. its a lander, not a rover, unique for its new landing method. rocket jets on the bottom of it slow its ascent to a gentle touchdown. theoretically. then it scoops up some soil and analyzes it, drills a little bit, takes pictures, and sits there doing dick. its only being launched because its so fucking cheap and NASA needs the publicity. im against missions that arent taking big leaps. NASA cant afford to lose its balls now, with the Vision still in its infancy. (3) second shuttle launch of the year in August. this one is bringing up the final truss segment, which is like the skeletal frame of the ISS. which means from here on out, all the other missions to the ISS will be to bring up connecting modules or new laboratory pieces, the elements that actually realize our $100+ billion investment. supposedly after 2016 the ISS is going to become a National Scientific Lab, which means private industry can use it for experimentation, and undoubtedly more tourism. i wonder if Virgin Space is developing docking capability to the ISS? we could be seeing 3-day stays in the next decade for only $1 million. dont laugh, thats actually a bargain.
in other legislation, immigration reform round 2 is about to be voted on. we shall see if that happens. oh, and Bush/Cheney co. are being subpoened again, this time about the FISA warrentless wiretapping. im glad somebody remembered that shit, at the time it really upset me. now its sooo pre-30% approval ratings. 26% to be exact. and the whole "non-executive branch" claim thing is making some decent headlines too. the possibility of impeachment for cheney at least seems quite possible now. if only if only if only there were a goddamn sex scandal!