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Tuesday, 31 May 2005
Opposition To Mars
While it won't be as close as the 2003 perigee, Mars will once again be spectacularly close to the Earth this year. While the closes point won't occur until Halloween (GMT), Mars is already becoming brighter in the sky, and the two planets are closing on each other at 23,500 miles per hour.
Continuing Voyagers
NASA Watch is reporting that NASA Administrator Mike Griffin has decided to keep the Voyager probes alive, reversing an earlier decision by the agency that could have cut funding to the spacecraft. No formal announcement has been made, however.
Low-Paying Jobs
Per The Los Angeles Times:Apple Computer Inc. boss Steve Jobs, who topped the Los Angeles Times' executive pay survey last year, is next to last on the new list after his compensation plunged from $74.8 million to just $1.
That's barely enough to download one song on an iPod. But according to federal filings, Jobs still owns 10 million shares of the Cupertino, Calif., computer and gadget maker — worth about $406 million at Friday's market close — so he probably won't be singing "Poor, Poor Pitiful Me" anytime soon.
Yoda One
Lain sent me this rumor a few days ago, so I'm late blogging it, but thought I'd throw it out here for discussion. According to various sources, Lucas has considered another, Yoda-centric Star Wars prequel film. According to the rumors, the film would be set several centuries before the "original six" and would focus on the role a young Yoda played the last time the Jedi defeated the Sith.
Saturday, 28 May 2005
Today In History
On this date in 1959, monkeynauts Able and Baker took a 15-minute flight in the nosecone of a Jupiter rocket, becoming the first animals to be recovered alive after a spaceflight. (Though in Able's case, that situation was quickly rectified.)
Friday, 27 May 2005
Today In History
On this date in 1999, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on the STS-96 mission, the first to dock with the International Space Station.
Intel It Like It Is
Per MacNN:During this week's Wall Street Journal "D: All Things Digital" conference, Intel chief executive Paul Otellini was pressed by Walt Mossberg about security on the Wintel platform, to which he offered a startling confession: He spends an hour a weekend removing spyware from his daughter's computer.
Asked whether a mainstream computer user in search of immediate safety from security woes ought to buy a Mac instead of a Wintel PC, he said, "If you want to fix it tomorrow, maybe you should buy something else."
Aspyr To Win
Since I know at least one ATW-reading household would be interested in winning a copy, I thought I'd like to Aspyr's contest in which they're giving away copies of The Sims 2.And, oh yeah, for those not into The SIms, they're also going to give away an iPod and an iPod shuffle.
Super Shuffle
OK, I'm suffering from a bout of intense Apple jealousy. As cool as my iPod shuffle is, it's going to seem a bit less cool when there are 4GB iPod shuffles on the market.
Thursday, 26 May 2005
Secret Files
In addition to this week's new Hatbag now being online, since the whole BuzzComix thing wasn't working too well, I added a link to a similar web comics directory. If you would be so kind as to cast a vote for Hatbag in the bottom left-hand corner, I'd be most appreciative.
Have A Cow!
A few of my readers have been loaned my copy of the Mr. Lowe comic strip collection by Indianolan Mark Pett, and readers of ATW have likely seen links to Pett's current strip, Lucky Cow. Pett does some great, very funny work, but if you're like me, his work may not appear in your local paper. Sure, you can read it online, but now you have the chance to experience the visceral joy of holding it physically in your hand, thanks to the new Lucky Cow collection, published by Andrews McMeel. Buy yours today!
Strag Lag
OK, just for the record, I would have totally celebrated Towel Day if I had known about it before it was over.I'm going to go ahead and blog a reminder for next year, though.
Miles To Go
OK, get the immediate reaction out of the way: As a fan of Deep Space Nine, the idea of Miles O'Brien in space delights me. Anyway, moving on...It appears that prior to the loss of Columbia, NASA had been close to working out an agreement for CNN reporter Miles O'Brien to become the first reporter to fly on the Space Shuttle, an arrangement which was being eyed as a possible foundation for a program like the one being developed in the pre-Challenger mid-80s in which reporters, artists, writers and other civilians would fly on the Shuttle and share their experiences.
I'm more than a little surprised to learn about this, particularly given how much the agency has stressed that the upcoming flight of Educator Astronaut Barbara Morgan is not like the old Teacher In Space program -- Morgan is a fully trained career astronaut, just like any other member of NASA's corps. Time and again it was stressed that NASA was not going to be flying a civilian.
Of course, that apparently still would have been the case with O'Brien, who reportedly would have dedicated two years to preparation for his flight. Even so, his role would have been very different than that of Morgan, who's dedication is fully to NASA, since O'Brien would have been on the crew representing an outside agency.
With the upcoming retirement of the Shuttle fleet, and the uncertainty of what exactly the post-Shuttle future will entail, the program now seems unlikely to get off the ground.
Rollback
Discovery began its several-hour journey back to the Vehicle Assembly Building this morning at 6:44 a.m. EDT. After being mated to a new External Tank, the stack will be rolled out to the pad again in mid-June, in preparation for a launch still scheduled for NET July 13.
Special Insurrection
DVDAnswers.com has a feature about the new collector's edition DVD of Star Trek Insurrection, which hits stores in about a week and a half. The feature includes screen captures from the several deleted scenes included on the DVD. It should be interesting to learn what sort of scenes weren't good enough for inclusion in the worst Trek movie ever.
Wednesday, 25 May 2005
Vader Hates Rabbits
So apparently bootleg DVDs of Episode III are already available in Beijing which, apart from being somewhat blurry, have rather interesting subtitles:
In one scene, Anakin Skywalker is dueling with light sabers. But the subtitle reads, "I have enough trouble with students having sex like rabbits."
7 UP, Up And Away
From Yahoo:Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin announced today that the next time you reach UP for a can of Diet 7UP, newly reformulated with SPLENDA® Brand Sweetener, you could be reaching for the stars. In partnership with the X PRIZE Foundation, creators of the $10 million ANSARI X PRIZE, the Diet 7UP Free Ticket to Space sweepstakes takes off this week on www.7UP.com. The sweepstakes will run through August 31, 2005, and will award one lucky consumer the chance to fly to the edge of suborbital space on an FAA-approved commercial space flight.
The sweepstakes is supported by a groundbreaking national TV ad campaign filmed in an authentic zero-gravity environment, aboard G-Force One(TM) -- a plane that simulates the unique experience of weightlessness.
Today In History
On this date in 1973, the first crew of Skylab launched on their way to the station. The launch had been delayed for 10 days to allow time for round-the-clock work to find fixes to problems which occurred during Skylab's launch on May 14. The crew of Pete Conrad, Joseph Kerwin and Paul Weitz during their stay were able to repair the crippled spacecraft into fully operational mode.
Also on this date, in 1961, President Kennedy told Congress, "First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."
Positive Discovery
As was announced a while back, before Discovery launches for the STS-114 mission, scheduled for July, the stack currently on the launch pad will have to be rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be mated to a new External Tank. That rollback was delayed recently, though, when cracks were discovered in the landing gear equipment on Atlantis, also currently being prepared for launch, so that Discovery could be checked to make sure it had no similar problems. That check has been completed, and Discovery's landing gear door mechanism has been found to be in good shape, clearing the way for a rollback scheduled for tomorrow.
These Are The Voyagers...
To be honest, I can't remember exactly how much of this is actually new information, but it's still pretty darned cool.Per Spaceflight Now:
NASA's inteprid Voyager 1 space probe has begun its journey to the stars and is now exploring the farthest reaches of the Sun's influence where the solar wind strangely interacts with interstellar space, agency officials formally announced on Tuesday.
...
The boundary crossed in December marks a point where charged particles constantly emitted from the Sun called the solar wind slow down from hundreds of miles per second to subsonic speeds. This is due to pressure from the interstellar wind, or the gas blowing between stars likely resulting from ancient nearby supernovae.
...
This shock also causes the temperature of the solar wind to significantly increase from about 200,000 degrees to over a million degrees due to the increased density of the particles once inside the heliosheath, which extends out to the heliopause and bow shock - the last official boundaries encountered before entering interstellar space.
City Of Troy
I've been somewhat interested in the City of Heroes online game; and my jealousy of the fact it's not available for my platform is mitigated only by the knowledge that, realistically, no matter how cool it sounds, even if I did have it on my Mac, I wouldn't, technically, have time to play it.As cool as the game sounds, though, the comic book tie-in was of basically zero interest to me. Being a superhero in a game could be very cool; reading about a computer game other people are playing, less so. The title immediately went onto my list of comics I have no interest in reading.
Of course, Witchblade was once pretty securely on that list at one time. And, to be honest, is again. By there was a two-issue story arc there a while back where it was must-read material for me, when it was written by comics-genius and Common-Grounds-scribe Troy Hickman.
Yeah, regular readers of this blog know where I'm going at this point; I'm switching into full-scale pimp-Troy-Hickman mode. NewsArama just published a story announcing that Troy will be writing a three-issue arc of City of Heroes, starting in August. I will, of course, be buying it, and encourage any comics fans in the audience to check it out as well.
Tuesday, 24 May 2005
What A Card
For Orson Scott Card, who has recently written a sour-grapes-filled column criticizing Apple, saying that the company doesn't do anything others haven't done earlier and better, as well as a diatribe blasting Star Trek for the fact it did nothing other science fiction hadn't done earlier and better, I have two words for his avocation as science-fiction-writer-turned-uber-curmudgeon: Harlan Ellison.
Editorial Update
OK, I'm going to try and get serious about this again. I've updated the sidebar stuff for the first time in a while, including a new poll and playlist. I've totalled up the Blogpoints for April and May, and, since I've only posted two new Blogpoint opportunities in those two months, I'm going to carry the contest forward into June as well.Sorry it's been sort of lax lately, but I really am going to try and do better.
Also, to help stir things up, the next Leonardo Code update will be worth 50 Blogpoints.
Open Gates
So I like to think I'm a decent writer, even when it comes to creative writing, and so what I'm asking myself now, is, am I this good:You could meet the chairman of Microsoft, but you'll have to profess a passion for Windows first. Microsoft is looking for true stories about people using Windows computers to pursue a passion or hobby. The company plans to use them in a marketing blitz tied to the 20th anniversary of Windows' debut. To entice essay submissions, Microsoft is offering a number of prizes, including the chance to meet Gates in Seattle and appear in the ad campaign.
For the chance to tell Bill Gates to Think Different, could I come with with a convincing 300-word essay? Hmmmm....
Time For A Movie
So I considered doing the old seen-haven't-seen listing for Times All-Time 100 Movies, but not only have I seen embarrasingly few of them, I also have some issues with the list that make me believe it's not worth the effort, such as the fact that it doesn't include Gone With The Wind, but does include, for example, Finding Nemo.
Today In History
On this date in 1962, Scott Carpenter became the second American to orbit the Earth following the launch of his Aurora 7 Mercury spacecraft.
Sail Away
The Planetary Society's Cosmos 1 spacecraft, which will feature the first solar sail propulsion system to be tested in space, has been scheduled for launch on June 21.
Monday, 23 May 2005
The Thrill Is Online
A new official Web site has been established for the B.B. King Museum that's going to be built in Indianola. Groundbreaking for the museum will be the day of the homecoming concert on June 10.
NewtCast
For the roughly zero of my readers that care, Macworld's latest Geek Factor podcast is about the Newton.
Sith Got BO!
I'm proud to have done my part to help Revenge of the Sith break box office records by watching it twice opening weekend.
Ad-ing Up
The FAA is seeking authority to regulate advertising in Earth orbit, which would enable it to bar space billboards that could be seen from the surface.
Show Me The Euros
Russia's proposed Soyuz-successor Klipper spacecraft is taking a major step closer to becoming a reality with the announcement that the European Space Agency may help foot the bill for the vehicle's development. Rosaviakosmos has been touting the plans for the vehicle for quite a while now, at the same time hinting that it would be much more likely to fly someday if a partner agency would step in with some money.
Never Forget
The Orlando Sentinel this weekend published a rather touching story about the families of the astronauts of Columbia's STS-107 crew.
Reach
OK, I thought this was a really cool video, and I'd love to see it get wider play.The story behind it is here.
If You Believe...
Though the launch date of the first commercial suborbital spaceflights is still very much in question (at least a year and a half away, and possibly longer), X Prize founder Peter Diamandis believes that private orbital flights are only five to eight years away, and private lunar missions will follow not far behind that, possibly with far larger stakes than just tourism.On a related note, Space.com also has an article about the current state of Virgin Galactic.
Knocking At The Gates
You know, as devoted an Apple user as I am, I have trouble believing for a minute that this will actually happen, but I do like the idea that Steve Jobs wants to make Apple the world's dominant computer company.
Sunday, 22 May 2005
Return To Revenge
Watched Revenge of the Sith again today.
Enjoyed it again today.
Saturday, 21 May 2005
Blog Today
I came up with exactly nothing to post today, so here's an anniversary HATBG that turns seven today.
Friday, 20 May 2005
Passing In The Martian Night
Abandon Ship?
Per Space.com:NASA may have to partially abandon the International Space Station if the Bush administration can't figure a way around a law that prevents the United States from paying Russia for future flights to the orbiting outpost.
"If we don't have (an) agreement with the Russians, then we won't be able to have people in space for long periods of time," said U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., chairman of the House Science Committee.
Thursday, 19 May 2005
It Is Done
Oh, yeah.Thought I should set up a post for discussion (including spoilers) of Episode III.
What'd you think?
The Circle Is Now Complete
I'm tired from getting back early this morning from watching Episode III, but here's this week's new Hatbag.
Wednesday, 18 May 2005
And So It Begins
Yeah, I'm looking forward to Episode III.Twelve hours from now, I'll be watching it.
But, to be honest, I think my anticipation has as much to do with personal closure as it does with interest in the story.
I don't remember the first time I watched Star Wars. I was not quite two when it came out, so I have no memory of the first time I watched it. I do remember that I had already seen it when Empire Strikes Back came out, when I was four. For me, there was never a time without Darth Vader.
My anticipation for the prequel trilogy began in earnest about 13 years ago. I remember being told as a freshman in college by James Earl Jones that he would do voice work for Episode III. In retrospect, I'm a bit embarrased that I met James Earl Jones and that's what I asked, but at the time, I thought it was incredibly cool. (And there's still a part of my that's secretly glad that young Dave was impolitic enough to do that and believes it's a cool conversation to be able to say I had.)
Of the prequel trilogy, my most vivid memories are of anticipation. Watching the first trailer for Episode I, having held out to watch it first on the big screen, and then dissecting it frame by frame on the computer. Discovering that a local Wal-Mart had put the action figures out before they were supposed to and getting my first look at several characters (Their computer wouldn't let them sell them too me early, though; but Nicole later convinced another Wal-Mart to let me buy some Ep. I Legos prematurely.) Eating free pizza procured with illicitly gained Star Wars promotional game pieces.
The first two prequels also came during transitional times during my life, boosting their prominence in my psychological landscape. Episode I was probably the last movie to which I took a girlfriend; within weeks of its release, Nicole was my fiancee. Episode I's release came shortly after Nicole earned her bachelor's degree; while Episode II followed not long after she earned her master's degree (But only a master's of evil). The purchase of my iMac was the only other highlight around the release of that film in what was otherwise one of the worst months of my life.
This month has been rather routine compared to the releases of the last two (particularly after NASA dashed my hopes for the greatest geek month in history by delaying Return to Flight), but as the premiere nears, I've found myself looking back over the last six and a half years since watching that first trailer. Though in any absolute sense tonight will be a completely arbitrary milestone, it still feels like the end of a chapter of my life. (Or, perhaps more accurately, a final epilogue to a chapter that closed a couple of years ago.)
I do hope it's good, though.
Revenge Of The Supper
I have no idea what the story is behind this Star Wars painting, but thought I'd share it anyway.
Today In History
On this date in 1969, the crew of Apollo 10 launched for the Moon, in the final practice run before the Apollo 11 landing.
Curse Of Clay
Moviefone has the trailer for the new Wallace & Gromit movie (which unfortunately doesn't come out until October. Hopefully that time can be used to promote awareness on this side of the pond so it'll open somewhere near me when it come out).
Tuesday, 17 May 2005
Countdown
Only 34 hours left.
HHGTTGDVD
Though there's no release date, they've already started releasing information about the Hitchhiker's Guide DVD.
(Insert Title Here)
So Warren Beatty is suing for the rights to make another Dick Tracy movie, which he argues he legally should be able to do.
Pets Aren't Slaves!
Moving Opportunity
After spending weeks mired in the martian dirt, Opportunity appears to be on its way to moving again, if very slowly.
011100110111010101101110011100110110010101110100
All right, it's time for some Star-Wars-tie-in science: Astronomers have announced that planets orbiting stars in multi-star systems, as Tatooine does, may actually be pretty common.
Force Of Legos
If you hurry, you can order the brand-new Lego Death Star II for the low introductory price of only $269.
Monday, 16 May 2005
Ministry Of Silly Trousers
Oh, man, I will totally go see a John-Cleese-penned Aardman Animations film.
The Real Stuff
As the final hours are ticking away before the premiere of the final Star Wars movie, a press conference will be held for another group planning to soon begin carrying people into space for real. For X Prize contender Canadian Arrow has partnered with an American businessman to form commercial spaceliner PLANETSPACE, and will be announcing Wednesday details of its plans to use its V2-inspired rocket to carry passengers on suborbital spaceflights.
On A Star Trek
Turns out there were two astronauts on Friday's Trek finale. Not only was ISS Expedition 9 Science Officer Mike Fincke in the show (which I'd heard about beforehand and spotted during the episode), but so was unflown astronaut Terry Virts.
Expedition 12
The next International Space Station crew, scheduled to launch in October, has been officially announced. The crew will be commanded by astronaut Bill McArthur, who had originally been assigned to last year's Expedition 9. McArthur is a veteral of three spaceflights, including one of the final assembly missions to the ISS before it was crewed. Joining McArthur will be cosmonaut Valery Tokarev. Originally selected as part of the group that will fly Buran, Tokarev has made only one spaceflight, on the STS-96 mission of the Shuttle (meaning that his launch to ISS will be the first time the cosmonaut has flown on a Russian vehicle).
NASA has also confirmed that another ISS crew member will be awaiting Exp. 12 when they arrive. ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter is scheduled to catch a ride to the Station aboard Atlantis on its STS-121 mission in September. Reiter, who will be the first non-NASA or -RSA astronaut to spent a long-duration stay on the ISS, is scheduled to begin his mission around the 10th anniversary of his previous spaceflight, a 179-day stay on Mir.
The Week In Review
Columnist Robert Cringely believes that the future of technology was shaped last week by a trio of announcements, the full impact of which, he argues, is yet to be seen.First among those is Microsoft's announcement that it will be competing with its biggest customers, second is a major step towards Google taking over the internet, and a leak indicates that Apple will dominate the future of not only music but video as well.
Sunday, 15 May 2005
Stay On Target
Tutor was kind enough to point me towards Target's cool Star Wars Web page, where you can make your own Star Wars scene, find out your Star Wars name (mine was rather disappointing: Duke Davhit Fortunadumptruck) and more.
Saturday, 14 May 2005
Today In History
On this date in 1973, the Skylab space station was launched, using the final Saturn V booster to ever fly.
Bye Bye, Braga
So, up until now, I've been trying to give Brannon Braga the benefit of the doubt. I mean, I liked some of the stuff he did with Ronald Moore. But, after last night, I've given up on him. He's fallen in with a bad crowd, and well they relaunch Trek, I'd be just as happy if they through the Braga out with the Bermanwater.So, yeah, my thoughts about the Trek finale were that it could have been better, and that there were several things I would have done differently.
I knew that they were going to have the Next Gen. cameos, so I was willing to give that a chance, but thought that, even so, it could have been done better.
People are welcome to post spoiler comments about the finale here, so if you don't want to read spoilers, don't open the comments to this post.
Friday, 13 May 2005
RTF Update
As of today, it's now two months until Return to Flight.(Which would seem cooler if we hadn't posted weeks ago that it was only one month until RTF. [In fact, it wasn't all that long ago that the launch was scheduled for Sunday.])
Memory Prime
So another of our patented later-that-day Easter Egg strips has been added to this week's new Hatbag.
Radio Shuffle
Yet another installment -- and another angle -- in the "How Apple is changing music" department. A Macworld editor has posted a column noting that radio stations are being affected by iPod-originated paradigm shifts in the way people think about, and want, their music.
The Sky Is Falling
Australia's government was embarrassed yesterday after an e-mail was mistakenly sent out saying, "This is a message to let you know that Perth is dangerous at this time of year."Perhaps the e-mail's author was thinking of the city's summer tendency to be targetted by falling space stations.
Scheduling Aera
Aera Corp. has begun selling tickets for its commercial spaceflight service, which it says will begin launching passengers on suborbital spaceflights in December 2006.Which strikes me as awfully optimistic for a company whose spacecraft exists solely on paper at this point. Aera plans to develop, build and flight test a new seven-person spacecraft and a launch vehicle in about a year and a half.
Voyages' End
After 18 years, it ends tonight. The final two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise air this evening.
Thursday, 12 May 2005
Spoilers
This week's new Hatbag marks the upcoming release of Episode III, now just a week away.
A-maze-ing
Not sure exactly what day this is supposed to be celebrated, but Pac Man turns 25 this year.
Long Nap
From the today in history department: There was some good new Joe blogging three months ago today. Ah, those were the days.
Another Way?
Three interesting statements made recently by NASA head Mike Griffin:- It may not be possible to complete the International Space Station by 2010.
- The Space Shuttle will be retired by 2010.
- The Space Station will will be completed.
For all three of those statements to be true, as Griffin acknowledges, it may be neccessary to find another means to complete ISS. No word on what that would be, but only one solution seems possible -- bringing a new heavy-lift vehicle online in the next five years or so.
It's not an impossible idea -- in fact, there are two rather easy ways of doing it -- but it would require serious dedication, soon.
Oh, Crap!
In yet another example of scientists being so concerned with whether they could do a thing that they don't stop to think about whether they should do a thing, researchers at Duke University have brought humanity a step closer to subjugation by giving monkeys powerful robot limbs!
Used tags: monkeys, robot_holocaust, science
The Worst Generation
I was midly amused by this thread on the TrekBBS with a suggestion on how to bring back Trek, which ditches Starfleet for civilian scientists, and starts with bringing back the Xindi in the first season, dedicating season two to the Sulliban and the temporal cold war, and then kicking things up a notch in season three with heaping helpings of Voyager!The impressive part of this idea for an eight-season series is that the creator manages to hit on an impressive string of bad ideas while apparently thinking it's all gold. I mean, sure, you could come up with worse ideas ("And the fifth season brings Sybok back to life as a Pakled god on the Spock's Brain planet!"), but you would have to be doing it intentionally.
Wednesday, 11 May 2005
X Files
The design of the formerly Marshall-managed X-37 is apparently about to soon undergo atmospheric testing. White Knight, the Scaled Composites mothership used to launch SpaceShipOne will carry the now-DARPA-run vehicle aloft for approach and landing drop tests at an undisclosed point in the future. While dates of the tests won't be announced in advance, ground-based taxi runs have already been conducted. The X-37, which was being used by NASA as a technology demonstrator associated with Orbital Space Plane development, was transferred to DARPA during the switch from OSP to CEV.There has been speculation that the X-37 could be the foundation of a future space bomber.
Regular Richie Feature
My discovery earlier today that ATW is the number one return for a Google search for apple switch megatron picard reminded me that I haven't done a Regular Richie Feature for this month yet. Among the Hatbag.net search strings so far for May:- nasa spacecraft in colombian hat crashed
- Paul Neil Milne Johnstone poetry sample
- black plague
- monkey picthers
- pope joke
- tiny kitties
- Grando calrissian
- butt naked or buck naked
- how to in space sneeze shuttle astronaut
- 1959-space monkey
- 4400 11:11 coincidence
- Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a bellybutton
- All the Miss Worlds From 1990 to 2004
- the worlds most evil pictures
- deep impact tempel 1 "end of the world"
Used tags: blog, monkeys, regular_richie_feature
What So Proudly We Hailed
Another Pic Of The Wall
This blog has reported before on the can-you-or-can't-you discussions about whether the Great Wall of China is visible from space. While the original claims that you can were complete myths with pre-space-age roots, they do have a slight grain of truth to them. Astronaut Leroy Chiao took pictures of the Wall while on ISS, though said he could not actually see it himself while taking the pictures.
RTF Update
So apparently the launch of Discovery is scheduled for 3:51 p.m. EDT on Wed., July 13, though that, of course, is subject to change.
iTablet Update
Apple has reportedly been granted been granted a patent for a design for a Mac tablet computer, which had been reported on last year when the company also sought a European patent.
Tuesday, 10 May 2005
No Time Like The Present
So no time travelers are known to have attended this weekend's Time Traveler Convention at MIT.
CEV ASAP
Per UPI:NASA Administrator Michael Griffin moved rapidly to install his strategy to build America's next-generation spaceship by 2010, the Washington Post reported.
Griffin plans to assemble an Apollo-style team of experts to recommend two finalists by the end of July to develop a new workhorse exploration vehicle, according to internal memorandums the newspaper obtained.
Space Bar
So apparently when you're visiting the Kennedy Space Center area, to get the full experience, you need to check out Shuttles, the bar closest to KSC.
iSign?
So iTunes has for a while now had some level of video support, with a selection of musical videos available to be watched at iTMS and a few movie trailers online that require iTunes access to watch optimally, but apparently the latest version of iTunes takes this a step further, with music videos that can be downloaded through iTMS, some for additional cost. So is this just the next logical step in current iTunes functionality, or a prelude to Apple online video distribution yet to come?
Monday, 9 May 2005
iVend
Man, it's just as well I didn't know about this a week ago when I was rushing though ATL to make my connection -- it turns out the Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta now has an iPod vending machine (at the other end of the airport from where I was, no less).
t/Spacecraft
t/Space, an alliance of aerospace experts formed in response to the Vision for Space Exploration, has made a proposal to NASA to develop a new spacecraft on the cheap in three years, which would make it available to transfer ISS crews well before the Shuttles retired. The proposal would involve the development of a four-person air-launched (did I mention that Burt Rutan's a member of the t/Space team?) capsule, with a design based on the Discoverer/Corona spy satellite program (picture at right, click for more info and a chance to enlarge). Cost for development and delivery of the first craft would be $400 million.
BiPod
I've got an iPod question that perhaps someone out there could answer for me. I'm set up to sync my iPod to my iMac at home, but now have a dock at work also connected to my PC for power purposes. I don't want to sync it to that computer, but I would love for it and the computer to ignore each other, so that I don't have to eject it every morning before I can play music. Toward that end, I installed iTunes and iPod software, but it tells me I have to reformat the iPod for PC use before it can recognize it. I really don't want to have to erase and reload the iPod, but might be willing to do so if it would save the extra step every morning. If I do, though, when I take it home to re-sync and re-load from my iMac, will it tell me I have to reformat again? Can you really not use an iPod with two different platform machines?
RTF Update
So it turns out that the SRBs and ET I saw about a week ago at KSC won't actually be used for the Return to Flight launch. Confirming speculation, NASA has officially announced it will roll Discovery back from the launch pad to the VAB at then end of the month to stack the Orbiter with a new tank and SRBs. A second rollout will be held in mid-June.
Sunday, 8 May 2005
Revenge Of The Brick
If anyone's interested, the Lego Star Wars movie comes on Cartoon Network this evening at 7 p.m. (not sure if that's universal, or EDT, or what).
Saturday, 7 May 2005
Today In History
On this date in 1992, the final Space Shuttle Orbiter, OV-105 Endeavour, was launched on its maiden mission, STS-49.
Friday, 6 May 2005
Lost Lander Found
The Mars Polar Lander, which crashed on the Red Planet over five years ago for reasons as yet undetermined, may have been found.
Thursday, 5 May 2005
Today In History
On this date in 1961, the era of American manned spaceflight began with the launch of Alan Shepard on the Freedom 7 Mercury mission, using a Huntsville-developed Redstone rocket.
Spammity Spam Spam
In light of recent events, ATW readers should appreciate this week's new Hatbag.
Wednesday, 4 May 2005
H2G2 2?
I had kind of assumed that this wouldn't be on the table, but apparently there is talk of producing a trilogy of Hitchhiker's films.
Aquarids Peak
Per Space Weather:The eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks on May 5th and 6th. The best time to look, no matter where you live, is during the hours before local sunrise on both days.
This is mainly a southern hemisphere shower, but northern observers can see it, too. In the United States, for example, observers far from city lights might see 5 to 10 meteors per hour. In Australia or South America, rates are better, between 15 and 60 meteors per hour.
The Future Of Hubble?
NASA will resume work on a space shuttle flight to save the Hubble Space Telescope, although the agency has not made a final decision to fly the mission, the agency’s new administrator Michael Griffin said Friday.
...
Griffin promised a review of the shuttle mission to begin after the fleet returned to space. When NASA decided this week to delay the first post-Columbia shuttle mission to July, Griffin decided to go ahead with the Hubble prep work now just in case.
Question Update
The delay of the STS-114 changes the launch schedule for the next several missions somewhat. I'd asked a while back if anyone was interested in an ATW trip to see a Shuttle launch, and so thought I'd ask whether the new schedule changed anyone's interest level for any particular meeting.Under the new schedule, there are two launches planned for this year, STS-114 NET July 13, and STS-121 NET Sept. 9.
So far, three launches have been scheduled for next year, on Feb. 16, April 23, and July 13.
I've also updated the launch countdown in the sidebar; after hitting a low of 24 days last week, it's now back up to 70 days.
A Lift To The Moon
Lockheed Martin has made public its proposed design for the Crew Exploration Vehicle, one of the submissions NASA received Monday. The LockMart proposal features a lifting body design that could be outfitted with different modules for lunar or martian missions.
End Of An Era
If anyone's interested, Spaceflight Now has an article about the Titan launch I watched Friday and its historical import.
Tuesday, 3 May 2005
****alot
So I wasn't aware until just now that they were releasing an original cast recording album of Spamalot. I'm somewhat interested in getting it, but unsure if, stripped off the stage performance, the audio alone would be more like a fresh experience hearkening back to my younger days of listening to Monty Python cassette tapes, or whether it would just seem like a rip-off.
Sorry
Too sick for blogging today. Will do better tomorrow.
Sunday, 1 May 2005
Making A Dent
Can't do much blogging now, but thought I'd set up an area for spoiler-friendly discussion of Hitchhiker's Guide.
Saw it last night, and thought it was probably about as good as it was going to be, but I'd love to hear opinions from the ATW community.
Tuesday, 31 May 2005
Opposition To Mars
(Read Entry)
Continuing Voyagers
(Read Entry)
Low-Paying Jobs
(Read Entry)
Yoda One
(Read Entry)Saturday, 28 May 2005
Today In History
(Read Entry)Friday, 27 May 2005
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Intel It Like It Is
(Read Entry)
Aspyr To Win
(Read Entry)
Super Shuffle
(Read Entry)Thursday, 26 May 2005
Secret Files
(Read Entry)
Have A Cow!
(Read Entry)
Strag Lag
(Read Entry)
Miles To Go
(Read Entry)
Rollback
(Read Entry)
Special Insurrection
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 25 May 2005
Vader Hates Rabbits
(Read Entry)
7 UP, Up And Away
(Read Entry)
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Positive Discovery
(Read Entry)
These Are The Voyagers...
(Read Entry)
City Of Troy
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 24 May 2005
What A Card
(Read Entry)
Editorial Update
(Read Entry)
Open Gates
(Read Entry)
Time For A Movie
(Read Entry)
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Sail Away
(Read Entry)Monday, 23 May 2005
The Thrill Is Online
(Read Entry)
NewtCast
(Read Entry)
Sith Got BO!
(Read Entry)
Ad-ing Up
(Read Entry)
Show Me The Euros
(Read Entry)
Never Forget
(Read Entry)
Reach
(Read Entry)
If You Believe...
(Read Entry)
Knocking At The Gates
(Read Entry)Sunday, 22 May 2005
Return To Revenge
(Read Entry)Saturday, 21 May 2005
Blog Today
(Read Entry)Friday, 20 May 2005
Passing In The Martian Night
(Read Entry)
Abandon Ship?
(Read Entry)Thursday, 19 May 2005
It Is Done
(Read Entry)
The Circle Is Now Complete
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 18 May 2005
And So It Begins
(Read Entry)
Revenge Of The Supper
(Read Entry)
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Curse Of Clay
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 17 May 2005
Countdown
(Read Entry)
HHGTTGDVD
(Read Entry)
(Insert Title Here)
(Read Entry)
Pets Aren't Slaves!
(Read Entry)
Moving Opportunity
(Read Entry)
011100110111010101101110011100110110010101110100
(Read Entry)
Force Of Legos
(Read Entry)Monday, 16 May 2005
Ministry Of Silly Trousers
(Read Entry)
The Real Stuff
(Read Entry)
On A Star Trek
(Read Entry)
Expedition 12
(Read Entry)
The Week In Review
(Read Entry)Sunday, 15 May 2005
Stay On Target
(Read Entry)Saturday, 14 May 2005
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Bye Bye, Braga
(Read Entry)Friday, 13 May 2005
RTF Update
(Read Entry)
Memory Prime
(Read Entry)
Radio Shuffle
(Read Entry)
The Sky Is Falling
(Read Entry)
Scheduling Aera
(Read Entry)
Voyages' End
(Read Entry)Thursday, 12 May 2005
Spoilers
(Read Entry)
A-maze-ing
(Read Entry)
Long Nap
(Read Entry)
Another Way?
(Read Entry)
Oh, Crap!
Scientists give monkeys robot limbs. (Read Entry)
The Worst Generation
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 11 May 2005
X Files
(Read Entry)
Regular Richie Feature
Recent search strings on ATW. (Read Entry)
What So Proudly We Hailed
(Read Entry)
Another Pic Of The Wall
(Read Entry)
RTF Update
(Read Entry)
iTablet Update
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 10 May 2005
No Time Like The Present
(Read Entry)
CEV ASAP
(Read Entry)
Space Bar
(Read Entry)
iSign?
(Read Entry)Monday, 9 May 2005
iVend
(Read Entry)
t/Spacecraft
(Read Entry)
BiPod
(Read Entry)
RTF Update
(Read Entry)Sunday, 8 May 2005
Revenge Of The Brick
(Read Entry)Saturday, 7 May 2005
Today In History
(Read Entry)Friday, 6 May 2005
Lost Lander Found
(Read Entry)Thursday, 5 May 2005
Today In History
(Read Entry)
Spammity Spam Spam
(Read Entry)Wednesday, 4 May 2005
H2G2 2?
(Read Entry)
Aquarids Peak
(Read Entry)
The Future Of Hubble?
(Read Entry)
Question Update
(Read Entry)
A Lift To The Moon
(Read Entry)
End Of An Era
(Read Entry)Tuesday, 3 May 2005
****alot
(Read Entry)
Sorry
(Read Entry)Sunday, 1 May 2005