Space

Wring It Out

There was a bit of discussion about dry launch in the space blogosphere in the last day or two. It seems to have started with Jon Goff’s piece at Selenian Boondocks, which Clark Lindsey picked up and expanded on (see the “Fueling a Space Town” post), and was followed up with a post on agile space development by Dan Scrimpsher.

This is an important topic, and I wish that there was some sign that the new management at NASA is paying attention to it.

I would also add, as a response to the commenter who asks in Jon’s comments section, why deliver propellant that has to be transferred as a fluid on orbit, rather than easier-to-handle propellant tanks? It’s because delivering tanks doesn’t offer the possibility of refueling them on orbit, so they’d only be single use. And in-space refueling is a critical technology in becoming a truly space-faring civilization, and the sooner we get on with developing and becoming comfortable with it, the sooner we’ll reach that desirable (at least to me) destination.

[Update at 9 AM EDT]

I was imprecise above. As Paul Dietz points out in comments, delivering tanks doesn’t preclude the possibility of refueling them later, but that wasn’t what the the commenter was suggesting. What I should have said is that it doesn’t advance us toward that (in my opinion) worthy goal, and it was clear from the commenter’s question that he didn’t have in mind tanks designed to be refueled (and it is a significant design issue).

[One more update]

I should have written “…preclude us from refueling from them later,” to respond to Paul’s most recent comment about mischaracterizing what he said.

War Commentary

Huh?

Apparently, Senator Feingold is going to call for a fixed date to remove troops from Iraq. This idea has been amply discussed in the blogosphere (short version of the criticism–it allows the “insurgents” to run out the clock, after which they can have their way with the Iraqis). But I need this explained to me:

Media Criticism

An Amazing Thing

This ought to be framed, or perhaps displayed in a museum. It’s a (truly, perhaps in the best sense of the word) liberal reporter who actually seems to live up to the (usually absurd) claim that his politics don’t affect his reporting. He actually saw something wrong with the Al Franken gang diverting funds from poor children to their failed escapade. Can you imagine?

And his band of brothers in the press attempted to steal the story from him:

Last week Executive Editor Michael Horowitz called in to conservative radio host Sean Hannity

Weird

An Egyptian Secret Weapon?

Charles Lurio writes that they’ve apparently cloned Yasser Arafat:

Clearly the Islamo-fascists have a new weapon: cloning with quick forced fetus development. Take a look at the guy in the lower right of this pic from a NYTimes article on p3 yesterday about the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

On the one hand they did improve him a bit: he’s not bald, as Arafat was under his kaffiyah. On the other, he’s clearly grown old too quickly once out of the womb, no doubt because they couldn’t turn off the accelerated development gene.

Or maybe it’s genetic damage from the laser poisoning.

Media Criticism

Just Stab Them, Dammit!

I’ve kvetched in the past about needlessly stupid things in science-fiction movies (needlessly in that they don’t even advance the plot, or necessarily add to the drama). Well, here’s someone who thinks the same thing about cinematic swordplay.

If the purpose of lightsaber fight choreography is simply to convey drama and excitement within the context of a story, then choreographers feel they’ve done their job well. But, from my point of view, if a lightsaber fight is supposed to convince the viewer that individuals of great skill are really trying to kill one another with laser swords while using supernatural powers that heighten their senses and physical abilities, well, they fail miserably.

[via Geek Press]

Technology and Society

Two Cults In One

Speaking of Thomas James, he has an amusing tale from the Mars Society Conference.

[Update a few minutes later]

I was about to do a radio interview with a German radio station about evolution and intelligent design when I posted this, so I didn’t get a chance to finish the thought with a similar supporting anecdote of my own.

I have a dear old friend (who will remain nameless) who is also a victim of the Mac cult. He swears by his Mac, and professes hatred of PCs and a mystification about why anyone would buy them when they could have a Mac. But when he shows me things on it, there are invariably problems with it that, if it were my machine, would cause me to toss it into the sea in frustration. Yet he seems almost blind to it, even as he asks for help in doing things that it won’t let him do.

Satire

It’s A Quagmire!

In Crawford.

[Update early Wednesday morning]

Thomas James advances Scrappleface’s ball further down the field in comments:

Mother Sheehan’s war is just a distraction from the Global Whinge on Bush. The left was arguably justified in going into the Plame/Rove scandal (remember that?) after the catastrophic 11/2 attacks which damaged Ohio’s electoral system and brought down the Twin Johns. But since then, they have squandered the unprecedented and heartfelt outpouring of support they once received from George Soros. The left went into this war on the basis of fraudulent estimates of Mother Sheehan’s capabilities as a weapon of mass media destruction, an “imminent threat” which has since been proved bogus, and their appalling conduct in this “illegal” ditch-occupation is serving as a recruitment tool for anti-idiotarian insurgents.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!