Random thoughts on politics, current events, popular culture, and whatever else interests me.
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
Helen Reddy - I Am Woman (1971)
From a time when feminism was more joyful than it is now. RIP Helen Reddy,
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Recently, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order, the hubris of which is breathtaking. He has decreed that the sale of automobiles running on the internal combustion engine will be outlawed in California starting in 2035. From that date, only vehicles that run on electricity, such as the Tesla line being manufactured by Elon Musk, will be sold in the formerly Golden State.
Monday, September 28, 2020
Sunday, September 27, 2020
NASA has released its plan to return to the moon. In an accompanying live stream presentation, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine put to bed a story that the space agency was contemplating sending the first woman and the next man to land on the moon to one of the Apollo landing sites. The idea got a lot of negative reactions on social media. Bridenstine stated that the next moon landing will go to the lunar South Pole, full stop.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
Friday, September 25, 2020
Thursday, September 24, 2020
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Monday, September 21, 2020
Sunday, September 20, 2020
With all due respect to Administrator Bridenstine, the first woman and the next man would have a number of better things to do than to gaze upon a decades-old Apollo landing site, with all of its jetsam of experiments and an ancient lunar module descent stage and leave a plaque. If the first human expedition to the moon since 1972 cannot reach the lunar south pole, a number of more interesting sites closer to the moon’s equator exist.
Earlier: The canceled Apollo missions to the moon would have been epic
If one needed positive proof that the Artemis program is not your father’s moon shot, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the space agency is interested in buying moon rocks.
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Friday, September 18, 2020
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
"The Pandemic Special" Premieres Sept 30 - SOUTH PARK
Just when all hope seemed to be lost, here comes South Park to save us all.
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Monday, September 14, 2020
Sunday, September 13, 2020
Recently, SpaceX’s Elon Musk addressed the Humans to Mars conference, during which he waxed eloquent about how his Starship interplanetary spacecraft was proceeding along. It is no secret that Musk is building this monster spaceship to facilitate his long-held dream to establish a settlement on the planet Mars. CNBC reports that Musk has a cautionary note for people who might want to join in on the project.
“I want to emphasize that this is a very hard and dangerous, difficult thing, not for the faint of heart. Good chance you’ll die, it’s going to be tough going, but it will be pretty glorious if it works out.”
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Friday, September 11, 2020
Thursday, September 10, 2020
Wednesday, September 09, 2020
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
The news that people living in California are being subjected to rolling blackouts has the rest of the country shaking its collective heads. That a state once known as the center of technological innovation cannot provide enough power for its citizens when the weather gets too warm seems incredible. How did this happen? And, more importantly, how can it be fixed?
Monday, September 07, 2020
Sunday, September 06, 2020
Scientific American recently reported that Russia is making progress on its long-planned-for Luna-25 moon lander. The flight is set to take place in October 2021.
Luna-25 will be the first Russian lunar lander since the mid-1970s. The lander is a joint project with the European space agency. The mission is planned as the beginning of a Russian attempt to jumpstart its space program by joining the rush to the moon.