Time to Dump the Shuttle

Technology July 31st, 2005

NEW Shuttle problem:  “A couple of short strips of filler material dangling from Discovery’s

belly had NASA scrambling Sunday to determine whether the protrusions

might endanger the space shuttle during re-entry and whether the

astronauts might need to attempt a repair. The potential trouble has

nothing to do with launch debris ….” read more

This is sickening… with all the billion$ spent on the Space program,

we’re dealing with pieces of foam, tape, glue, pieces of junk

protruding, falling off…  are we talking about kids’s toy models

or space-age design and materials here?    As so many

other’s stated, instead of band-aiding it, it’s time to dump the old Shuttle , and either build a brand new one, or leave space travel to the Russians … or perhaps Private Enterprise.

 

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Mystery Tree Planter Strikes Again

Misc July 29th, 2005

“Authorities are baffled over a mystery tree planter who struck again in the rural Oak Park section of east Ventura County.
…Two more oak trees were added this month to the 20 planted in open space since early 2004 and no one knows who put them there.
…The Mystery Tree Planter first struck in January 2004, when 15 valley, coastal live and holly oaks suddenly appeared in an open area in Medea Creek Park.Park District officials went door-to-door in the neighborhood bordering the planting site in an effort to find out who was planting the trees.
…We want to talk to him and give him some recognition…We’re not looking at punishment. We all want more trees.”

Well, I don’t get it .. The guy is obviously a do-gooder, everyone’s happy, nobody wants to “punish” him .. why spend taxpayer money investigating him?

local6.com - News - Mystery Tree Planter Strikes Again

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Brilliant (Blog) Button Maker

Blogging, Personal Productivity, Software July 28th, 2005

Easy tool to make cute or not-so-cute buttons for your Blog.   Here are a few samples:

example example example example example example example example example example example example example example example

Found on the

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Magazine Ads down, Blogs Up

Blogging, Business, Marketing / PR, Misc July 28th, 2005

Newsweek Drops Issue, Cites Poor Ad Sales

Due to low ad pages during late summer, Newsweek is trimming the number of issues it publishes by one, opting for a double issue dated Aug. 29-Sept. 5, Mediaweek reports.


Through July 19, Newsweek’s ad pages have fallen 15.6 percent this year, to 970. It’s not alone. A lack of spending in the technology and automotive sectors has hurt the whole newsweekly category with ad pages falling 10.5 percent, to 6,332 through July 19.

Source: MediaBuyerPlanner

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New Private Space Craft

Business, Misc, Technology July 28th, 2005

Jeff Nolan ponders about why taxpayer $ is spent on trying to send tired old vehicles up in space, instead of creating new ones.  Btw, for all I know the Russian Progress and Soyuz flights are just as aging as ours, an they had their fair share of problems, too.  Anyway while NASA is spending OUR money on band-aid solutions, private capital gets into building new space vehicles, albeit sub-orbital ones:
 
Richard Branson and Burt Rutan Form Spacecraft Building Company
By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 27 July 2005
03:09 pm ET

British entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson, has teamed up with aerospace designer, Burt Rutan of Scaled Composites to form a new aerospace production company. The new firm will build a fleet of commercial suborbital spaceships and launch aircraft.

Full article here.


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Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Already Broken

Software, Technology July 27th, 2005

Wow, this didn’t take long!

Rafael Rivera has posted instructions on how to circumvent Microsoft’s WGA on IE and FF.

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What Browser Wars?

Blogging, Open Source, Software July 27th, 2005

(Updated)
There are no Browser Wars anymore - FireFox has won.
Yes, I know their overall market share just hit 10% - but when I look at the chart below, I see a very different picture:

There’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you are a blogger yourself - go and check your visitor stats.  The future is here :-)
Update (7/11/06):  A year later Firefox overall market share is up tp 13% worldwide, 16% in the US, and, get this (!)  33% in Germany - reports TechCrunch.   60% of TechCrunch readers and about 52% of my blog readers use Mozilla based browsers.   I believe Opera is underrated,  since the default setting in Opera is to simulate IE6.

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Work Life Balance

Business, Humor, Misc, Startups July 26th, 2005

I’ve read several posts on Work Life Balance recently by Fred Wilson,  Brad Feld and Steve Shu.  What a co-incidence that I received a relevant email today… it’s one of those chain-mails, I don’t even know who to credit as original author, but it’s good enough that I felt compelled to share here.
 
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee . .

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the
important things–God, your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions–and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else–the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. “Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first–the things that really matter. Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee
represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

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Open Source …. Beer!

Humor, Open Source, Software July 26th, 2005

Danish offer a recipe for open source beer

Recipe for beer by Vores Ol

 “Now … when you here the words “open source” most people think of computer software programs like Linux …It’s a model where the original “source code” can be modified and improved at no cost…and it’s shared among users for free. Well now … thanks to Rasmus Nielsen, beer is free too. Atleast the recipe is … in an industry where ingredients and processes are typically kept under strict trademark.

Rasmus Nielsen is one of the creators of the Vores OI beer recipe. We reached him at his home in Copenhagen, Denmark.”

Thanks to Randy for discovering this gem Recipe here.

Update (6/9/08):  Jevon talks about free beer.  Some more serious stuff, too, but, hey.. BEER!

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Debris Falling from Discovery

Misc, Technology July 26th, 2005

 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA officials are analyzing video of a portion of Tuesday’s shuttle launch “frame-by-frame” after one of several cameras aboard the craft captured what appeared to be pieces of debris separating from Discovery, according to Local 6 News.

  • “The question was asked whether this was a danger to the orbiter?,” Forbes said. “Officials said they did not think so but they are still going to analyze the video.”

    Local 6 News aired video showing the pieces apparently coming loose while the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters separated (pictured, left).

    SLIDESHOW: Cam Catches Debris Falling Off Shuttle
    VIDEO: Video Shows Pieces Coming Loose
    IMAGES: See The Launch

    There also appears to have been a large piece of debris coming off the external fuel tank two minutes into the flight — but it doesn’t appear to have hit the orbiter, Associated Press reported.

    Watch the video here.

    Update:  NASA now reports Discovery hit a bird seconds after launch. Full coverage here.

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