Robert Goddard flew his first one a century ago today.
Understanding Space Policy
A long but what looks to be interesting series, by my friend Bhavya Lal. It could eventually be a textbook on the subjectc.
Brian Doherty
This is a shocking loss. Matt Welch remembers him. I wouldn’t say he was a friend, but we talked occasionally at Reason events.
And Now For Something Completely Different
— Unknown 🦛 (@probzunknown) March 13, 2026
I think that things are going to start happening rapidly, to the point that NASA will become almost irrelevant.
Back On The Air
We got back from the funeral in Michigan yesterday morning, and I’m slowly getting my computer functional again. I had to reinstall the OS, and I’m still not sure I’ve solved the problem that I installed a new graphics card for. I’m slowly/painfully restoring the functionality in terms of software, and configuration of things like Thunderbird, Brave, Chrome, which lost all their settings after I reinstalled the OS, despite the fact that /home is on a separate drive that I mount after boot. Anyway, I’ll start posting again soon. There’ve been a lot of interesting developments in space policy…
[Thursday-morning update]
For those curious, I was having difficulty in that the machine was running like molasses, and it was initially diagnosed by Grok as an incompatibility between Wayland and my old GPU. So I replaced the GPU (a hundred-buck RX500 card), but it didn’t solve the problem. I couldn’t get it to boot with Xorg, and long story short, I finally solved it by switching from Gnome to KDE…
[Thursday-morning update]
I’ve finally run down the issue. It wasn’t software; it was hardware. My /home drive is failing. Out to get a new one.
[Friday-the-13th update]
Drove down to Irvine to Microcenter and bought a new Seagate 4T drive. I disconnected the old one, connected it the new one, formatted it ext4, reconnected the old one, mounted both, and I’m doing rsync from the old to the new.
The Fall Of The NGO-Administrative Complex
A comprehensive description of what America has been fighting for decades, even while largely unaware that it existed, by @DataRepublican.
Great Space Policy News
I don’t have time to comment, but it looks like Jared is winning over the Senate.
Agree this is a significant & extremely positive development. Looks like the combo of @NASAAdmin's credibility, willingness to go public with existing program's shortcomings & crafting a plan giving SLS a chance to improve, while allowing competition worked! Promising indeed! https://t.co/xm9ecQaO8e
— Lori Garver (@Lori_Garver) March 4, 2026
Light Posting
I’m still having computer issues. I had to reinstall the OS, so it will take a while to get everything back up and working. Beyond that, we’re flying to Michigan tomorrow for a funeral of a relative on Friday (a first cousin once removed, but the relationship was more like an aunt — she was 98). Plus, we have a sick cat, and Patricia may have to stay home with him. Anyway, I’ll have the laptop, but probably not much time to post until Monday. I’ll be back Sunday night. Open thread in comments.
Is College Making People Stupider?
Yes. In fact, the entire educational system is.
The First Day Of The War
The Mullahs (I’m not going to call them “Iran”) are impotent, and just made enemies of everyone in the region.
Iran just fired missiles at five countries simultaneously. Here is what actually happened to each of them.
— Shanaka Anslem Perera âš¡ (@shanaka86) February 28, 2026
Bahrain. Confirmed hit on the US Navy Fifth Fleet headquarters. Bahrain’s own state news agency reported the strike. No casualty figures released yet. This is the command… pic.twitter.com/UiWXsGfm4K
[Monday-morning update]
Still trying to get my computer straightened out (having issues with X and the new graphics card) but here’s a good recap of the war so far, from Roger Kimball.
[Afternoon update]
Thoughts on Trumps strategy:
"I’m asking you to hold the line. Not because the President is infallible… he’s not, nobody is… but because the logic is sound. You cannot build a fortress of peace on a foundation of unresolved threats. You have to clear the ground first. That’s what’s happening."
— Apple Lamps (@lamps_apple) March 2, 2026
The… pic.twitter.com/Hxrj6FCbb0
[Wednesday-morning update]
When the can finally stops getting kicked down the road.
It’s been far too long.