Does it say something about us that the last Shuttle to fly is the one named after a (most likely) mythical continent?

 Lately, I've been getting dis-enchanted with Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomy blogger) ( http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/ ) as his blog has become more of a screed on skepticism, railing on anti-vaccination people, and whining about "climate change deniers".

Today, I have to admit he's said something so very very true about the ( Read more... )

 I was reading the Bad Astronomy Blog's article about SpaceX's Dragon capsule drop test, which went off beautifully.  Then I started wandering around on their website - and found that they're SERIOUS about becoming COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf).  In clear, simple to understand language, they list *LAUNCH* prices, for Falcon Ie, Falcon 9, and ( Read more... )

 Falcon 9 - 9 minutes to orbit - it's just *APPROPRIATE*.  And who knows?  Maybe it'll be the start of getting us out of this mess with NASA that the last few presidents have gotten us into.  Maybe we'll get the Falcon 16 or Falcon 25 soonish!  (As I understand it, the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 are named for the number of Falcon engines they have ( Read more... )

I'm currently reading a nice little book by Arthur C. Clarke, published back in 1977, titled Profiles of the Future.  I found it interesting to read the following in his discussion on what communications satellites will mean for the future:

"Some cynics maintain that the TV relay system is the best argument against space travel that has ever been ( Read more... )

Journaling like this isn't that easy for me, as my mind skips from topic to topic to topic in blazing comets of connections.  Earlier, as I was visiting Nadia (the Feline Owner of the house) on the bed, the topics ranged from recycling (someone asked me if I knew we had aluminum recycling bins in the break room after I crushed the can I'd been ( Read more... )