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Friday, 28 March 2008
The Mother And Child Reunion
MacRumors is reporting that Apple has plans that involve both the iPhone and handwriting recognition.On the one hand, the iPhone, at least in its current iteration, just doesn't seem like a great platform for handwriting. I have no desire to write on my iPhone touchscreen. On the other, anything that feeds my Newton love is a good thing.
Used tags: apple, iphone, newton, rumors
Thursday, 27 March 2008
While The Iron Is Hot
This week's new Hatbag strip is now online. I have no clever comment about it this week, but it's on time, so that should be something. Go check it out.For those ATW readers who don't follow the weekly Hatbag link, a brief explanation -- Hatbag is a weekly webcomic Lain and I create; following two old college buddies as they adjust to sort-of grown-up life. If you read ATW, take a few extra seconds to go read Hatbag. Please? Please?
Used tags: comics, funny, hatbag
STS-124 Update
With Endeavour back on the ground after a successful mission, I've reset the ATW countdown clock at the top left for the STS-124 launch of Discovery, currently scheduled for May 25. The flight will deliver the pressurized module and robotic arm of the Japanese Experiment Module, Kibo.
Used tags: international_space_station, launch_schedule, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_124
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Triple Sighting
I almost gave up.I'd never really noticed how much light pollution there is even in the darkest part of my neighborhood. But standing out in a dark open area last night, a bit after the first spacecraft flew by, I was about to leave, figuring I must have missed the other two. Given the low number of visible stars, I figured I must have just seen the station -- the brightest of the three -- and the other two had been too dim.
Right before I left, though, the second moving star appeared, much brighter than the first. This, then, was the International Space Station, and the first one had been the European Jules Verne ATV cargo ship. I'll admit, I have no real sense of how big ATV is; I just know it's bigger than I picture it in my mind. Regardless, it was much brighter than I was expecting.
Very shortly after station appeared, the third dot appeared and followed it across the sky; Endeavour departing from ISS.
Shamefully, I've not seen station in about five years (at least intentionally, I'm pretty sure I saw it once accidentally since then), and I've never seen shuttle and station together, despite making a note to on a number of cloudy nights. So to finally see not only those two, but a third spacecraft as well? Very cool.
And it was amazing how bright station has become since the last time; Alpha's grown up a bit recently.
Last night was also another of those moments were it really struck home how incredibly fortunate I am to be even a tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny tiny part of an organization that can move stars across the sky. And how amazing the current international partnership in space is -- those three stars included one built by the U.S., one by Europe and one built cooperatively by the U.S., Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. All moving across the sky in an orderly row.
Used tags: astronomy, international_space_station, nasa, roskosmos, space
The Gravity Of Marriage
To be sure, I like space, and stuff related to space, and all that, but, I think, were I ever to get married again, I wouldn't get engaged in weightlessness. I mean, you know, maybe if, somehow, I were actually, like, in orbit, maybe, but the odds of that are pretty slim. (No cracks about the relative odds of me finding someone willing to marry me, thankyouverymuch.) But on a reduced-gravity aircraft flight? Probably not.
Used tags: altspace
STS-123 Update
Per NASA:The crew of space shuttle Endeavour spent Tuesday getting ready for its journey home and the end of the STS-123 mission. Early in their day, the crew members performed a test of the thrusters that will be used to position the orbiter for re-entry and the control surfaces for its flight through the atmosphere.
...
Endeavour is scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., at 7:05 p.m. EDT Wednesday. (6:05 CDT)
Used tags: eva, international_space_station, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_123
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
In The Heat Of The 300
Used tags: funny, mississippi, movies
Monday, 24 March 2008
Double Sighting
With the Jules Verne European cargo vehicle awaiting its upcoming docking with the International Space Station, it will be possible in some areas to see the two spacecraft race across the sky, one after the other. You can go here to find out when/if they'll be visible in your area.
Used tags: international_space_station, nasa, space
More Trek Links
A collection of interesting-ish Trek stuff:- The remastered Season Two of TOS will be released in August, but not in a next-gen format
- Rumors that modified iPhones would be used in Trek XI are apparently untrue.
- Simon Pegg says he signed on for three Trek films. FWIW.
Used tags: apple, dvd, iphone, movies, rumors, star_trek, star_trek_xi
War, Inc.
I've been waiting for quite a while to be able to see War, Inc., which some have described as a sort-of spiritual sequel to Grosse Point Blank, which I love very much.And now, DVD File is reporting it's coming to Blu-Ray on May 23. IMDB is reporting that day for a limited US theatrical release, with a July 1 DVD release, so I'm not getting my hopes up for it playing in theaters in Huntsville, which makes me sad.
STS-123 Update
Per NASA:The crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station have completed their last full day together.
Much of the astronauts’ morning was off‐duty time. Afterward, the crews wrapped up transfers of equipment and supplies between Endeavour and the station, and they checked out the tools needed for undocking and subsequent activities.
...
Endeavour will undock from the station at 7:56 p.m. EDT Monday and begin its journey back to Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Used tags: eva, international_space_station, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_123
Friday, 21 March 2008
Stupid and Contagious
Kurt Cobain Converse sneakers. Yes, really.
Used tags: music
STS-123 Update
Per NASA:Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman completed the fourth STS-123 spacewalk at 12:28 a.m. EDT, spending six hours and 24 minutes on the excursion.
As the docked International Space Station and space shuttle Endeavour orbited high above the Earth, the two shuttle crew members replaced a failed Remote Power Control Module – essentially a circuit breaker – on the station’s truss. However, there were difficulties removing a power connecter from the Z1 truss.
With Mission Specialist Rick Linnehan coordinating their activities from inside the orbiting complex, the spacewalkers also tested a repair method for damaged heat resistant tiles on the space shuttle. This technique used a caulk-gun-like tool named the Tile Repair Ablator Dispenser to dispense a material called Shuttle Tile Ablator-54 into purposely damaged heat shield tiles. The sample tiles will be returned to Earth to undergo extensive testing on the ground.
Endeavour’s crew will perform a final inspection of the orbiter’s heat shield tiles Friday using the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS).
Behnken and Foreman will begin the mission’s fifth and final spacewalk Saturday at 5:23 p.m. Among other tasks, they will stow the OBSS on the station’s main truss to be retrieved by the crew of Discovery on STS-124, the next space shuttle mission.
Used tags: eva, international_space_station, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_123
Thursday, 20 March 2008
I'm Sorry, Dave
This week's new Hatbag strip isn't even supposed to be funny, so it's arguably more likely to succeed. Go check it out.For those ATW readers who don't follow the weekly Hatbag link, a brief explanation -- Hatbag is a weekly webcomic Lain and I create; following two old college buddies as they adjust to sort-of grown-up life. If you read ATW, take a few extra seconds to go read Hatbag. Please? Please?
Used tags: books, comics, hatbag, space
STS-123 Update
Per NASA:The crews of space shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station got some off-duty time at the beginning of their 10th day in orbit. They also spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and participated in interviews with U.S. media.
The astronauts spent the remainder of their day configuring tools for the fourth STS-123 spacewalk and reviewing spacewalk procedures.
They also prepared for the primary task of that spacewalk, which is the test of a heat shield repair method. This technique uses a caulk-gun-like tool named the Tile Repair Ablator Dispenser to dispense a material called Shuttle Tile Ablator-54 into purposely damaged heat shield tiles. Once the test is complete, the sample tiles will be returned to Earth to undergo extensive testing on the ground.
Before going to sleep, Mission Specialists Robert L. Behnken and Mike Foreman entered the station’s Quest airlock for the standard “camp out,” during which the nitrogen is purged from their bodies. They are slated to begin the mission’s fourth spacewalk at 6:28 p.m. EDT.
Used tags: eva, international_space_station, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_123
Free Books!
The cover of the latest issue of Wired argues that "free" is the future of business; and Cult of Mac blogger Leander Kahney is putting it to the test by offering his books Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod for free online, in part to see whether doing so will increase sales of the print versions.
Used tags: apple, books, ipod, media
Editorial Note
Yeah, the blog has broken yet again. Why? I don't know.Here's the deal -- I need to fix it, but I really need to address the root causes rather than continuing to duct-tape the thing. The CMS software I use is currently developing a major revision; but it's still in alpha. When it moves into beta, which should be next month, I'm going to switch over, and do another major overhaul of the blog.
In the meantime, you'll just have to be patient with the glitches. Thanks.
Used tags: blog
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
All These Worlds...
"Dave...My mind is going...I can feel it..."Wow. An entry that's going to be inadequate even before I start writing it.
How does this blog pay adequate tribute to the man that inspired its name? I considered just taking the thing offline today, with a splash-page tribute. But that's too easy.
From the big picture, what I find to be the greatest tribute to Clarke is that the stories yesterday and today all refer to him as a science-fiction author. The man is the father of modern satellite communications, and yet is best known for his books. You've got to be a pretty serious writer for your genre fiction to outshine that sort of accomplishment. Picture Chuck Yeager writing westerns so good that breaking the sound barrier was bumped to the second graf of his story, or Oppenheimer being better known for his fantasy books.
From a personal note, 2001 was the first novel I ever read. I was in elementary school, loved science fiction, and wanted to watch the movie. My father said that I needed to wait until after I read the book; that I couldn't really understand the movie without having read it. I'm sure in retrospect that his intent was that would delay watching the movie for a few years until I was old enough to read it, and not that I would immediately pick up 2001 as the first novel I read, and being chugging through it. I forget how long it took; certainly months, maybe longer. I was 6 or 7 or 8, I guess? As I recall, I put it down and picked it up again more than once before I got through the part about the monkeys. I'm wanting spaceships and cool computers, and instead I'm reading about the day-to-day life of protohuman apes. But it got me to start reading, and I never stopped.
There's a bit of irony in the fact that, while Clarke's books generally involved humans in space, a large portion of my interest in unmanned exploration is owed to him. 2010, and 2061, really generated a sense of wonder about what lies in our outer solar system. Yes, without question, I want us to go out there someday; but, in the meantime, the fact that our probes have done nothing but fly by Europa from a distance is shameful.
Clarke's passing almost certainly makes official something that actually took place years ago; the end of the era of the grandmasters of science fiction -- men like Asimov and Heinlein and Herbert who used the genre to open horizons. Asimov, for example, couldn't tell a story to save his life for decades, but the ideas ... the ideas more than made up for any faults in his writing. Their descendants remain -- Gibson comes immediately to mind -- but it's just not the same.
"All these worlds are yours ... Use them together. Use them in peace."
Used tags: books
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
By Will Alone I Set My Film In Motion
Mostly for Joe, I had to post the fact that development is underway on a new adaptation of Dune. Which, I like Dune, to be sure, but don't know how much new there is to add. I do hope that this bit -- "The filmmakers consider its theme of finite ecological resources particularly timely." -- doesn't mean that they are going to work to make the adaptation fit the moment.
Used tags: movies
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
The Launch Of Jules Verne
I've been remiss in not writing about it before now, but the European Space Agency's Jules Verne cargo vehicle is scheduled for its maiden launch this weekend. The new vehicle is the first non-US or -Russian spacecraft to be used to support the station, and can reportedly carry three times the cargo of the Russian Progress cargo vehicle.
Used tags: esa, international_space_station, space
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
STS-123 Update
Per Space.com:The seven-astronaut crew of NASA's shuttle Endeavour is gearing up for the longest construction mission ever aimed at the International Space Station (ISS), where spaceflyers will add a Japanese-built room and a Canadian robot to the growing orbiting laboratory.
Endeavour's STS-123 crew is on track for a March 11 launch toward the station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to begin a marathon construction flight expected to last about 16 days.
...
Gorie and his crew are planning to launch - and land - in darkness, bookending a busy construction flight that includes five spacewalks to assemble the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robot Dextre, install the first segment of Japan's massive Kibo laboratory, test a shuttle heat shield repair method and deliver spare parts to the ISS. Two new international control centers, in France and Japan, respectively, will begin operations during the mission to activate the Kibo component and prepare for the arrival Europe's maiden ISS cargo ship Jules Verne.
Used tags: international_space_station, launch_schedule, nasa, space, space_shuttle, sts_123
Monday, 3 March 2008
Apple Search
So, according to TUAW, Cosmo recommends Apple stores as a great place to meet single guys.So for the single female readers in the ATW audience (ah, who am I kidding?), let me just note that not only is Huntsville getting an Apple store soon, but there's a P.F. Chang's located conveniently nearby. Like I really needed another reason to spend time there.
Used tags: apple, apple_store, huntsville
Friday, 28 March 2008
The Mother And Child Reunion
Will iPhone get handwriting recognition? (Read Entry)Thursday, 27 March 2008
While The Iron Is Hot
The week's Hatbag strip is now online. (Read Entry)
STS-124 Update
I've reset the countdown clock. (Read Entry)Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Triple Sighting
I got to see ATV, ISS and STS last night. (Read Entry)
The Gravity Of Marriage
Man proposes to fiancee in zero-g. (Read Entry)
STS-123 Update
Endeavour lands today. (Read Entry)Tuesday, 25 March 2008
In The Heat Of The 300
Little attempt at a funny. (Read Entry)Monday, 24 March 2008
Double Sighting
Jules Verne and ISS will be visible together. (Read Entry)
More Trek Links
Random Trek-related stuff. (Read Entry)
War, Inc.
...will apparently skip theaters near me. (Read Entry)
STS-123 Update
Endeavour will undock today. (Read Entry)Friday, 21 March 2008
Stupid and Contagious
Converse released Kurt Cobain sneakers. (Read Entry)
STS-123 Update
Fourth spacewalk completed. (Read Entry)Thursday, 20 March 2008
I'm Sorry, Dave
The week's Hatbag strip is now online. (Read Entry)
STS-123 Update
Fourth spacewalk is today. (Read Entry)
Free Books!
Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod available free online. (Read Entry)
Editorial Note
Blog's broken again. (Read Entry)Wednesday, 19 March 2008
All These Worlds...
Arthur C. Clarke, 1917-2008 (Read Entry)Tuesday, 18 March 2008
By Will Alone I Set My Film In Motion
Remake of Dune is underway. (Read Entry)Wednesday, 5 March 2008
The Launch Of Jules Verne
ESA ATV is days from liftoff. (Read Entry)Tuesday, 4 March 2008
STS-123 Update
Astronauts eager for long construction flight. (Read Entry)Monday, 3 March 2008